India, May 18 -- Efforts to forge a Panthic political alliance ahead of the upcoming Punjab assembly elections suffered a setback on Sunday after Akali Dal Waris Punjab De, led by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, withdrew from a joint coordination committee formed with Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit), a breakaway faction of the SAD, citing failure to reach consensus on what it called "fundamental and crucial ideological issues".

The break in negotiations comes amid increasing political activity in Punjab's Panthic space, with speculation that SAD (Punir Sirjit) senior leader and Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali and several others could align with Waris Punjab De, which is being led politically in the absence of jailed Khadoor Sah...