However, general secretary of the Punjab BJP Anil Sarin chose to leave the question open-ended. While Badal himself on Monday evaded questions on the alliance, SAD leaders have publicly dismissed speculations. “With the Centre now proposing a uniform 50% increase in Lok Sabha seats, Punjab could have around 20 seats instead of 18 under a population-based calculation,” he added. The SAD’s lone Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also steered clear of the alliance issue. In 2019, the BJP and SAD together polled 37.08% of the votes and won two Lok Sabha seats each.