Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is spearheading the BJP’s political campaign in Punjab, has ruled out any possibility of an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the poll-bound state.”The BJP’s alliance is with the people of Punjab,” he said, claiming that the saffron party would form the next government in the neighbouring state.On SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament last Friday, he said Modi represented 140 crore people of India and he could meet anyone. Expressing surprise over speculation about a possible alliance, he said some people had begun celebrating the meeting, saying that “finally, the time had been given”.Though Saini has sought to end the speculation for now, political equations can change quickly. Badal’s meeting with PM Modi assumes significance as the Punjab Assembly elections are only months away.The SAD and the BJP remained allies for more than two decades and jointly governed Punjab for three terms: 1997-2002, 2007-2012 and 2012-2017. Their 23-year alliance officially ended in September 2020 following differences over the now-repealed farm laws.The SAD initially supported the laws before opposing them and demanding their repeal. The party subsequently walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and contested the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections separately, suffering heavy electoral losses.Meanwhile, Saini also targeted the AAP government during his media interaction on Monday. He claimed that the Bhagwan Mann-led government had surpassed the Congress in corruption. He said while the state government was providing cash assistance to women under the Mawan Dhiyan scheme ahead of the elections, benefits such as widow pension for many beneficiaries had been discontinued.