We need to understand the Production House's predicament. The meeting of Jodha and Akbar and the subsequent romance will be the high point of the serial, but showing it now will be a waste of effort.
A serial cannot compete with an IPL match being held in India. Everyone who follows JA will watch the episodes, they just won't watch it 8 P.M as ZEE wants. There is no need to, the serial is repeated at least 4 times in the next 24 hours, besides there is no fear of news spoiling the fun.
In addition, 8 P.M is prime time for election mania, and this mania will continue until the results are declared.
JA has a certain hardcore audience and they will watch almost anything, they don't need anything special. It the casuals that ZEE wants and it won't get them in the present environment, hence the dragging of tracks.