BJP to Contest All 117 Assembly Seats in Punjab, Form Own Government

Amidst growing speculation about a possible alliance between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for the Punjab Assembly elections due in February 2027, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh on Monday said the party would contest all 117 Assembly seats in a bid to form its own government in the state. “Punjab is fully ready for change, and the BJP is fully prepared to make this change a reality. In the upcoming Assembly elections, the BJP will contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab and, by securing a victory, will form its government in the state,” Santhosh said while addressing the state BJP’s zonal meeting in Patiala. Earlier in the day, Santosh was welcomed at the Mohali airport by Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon and BJP co-incharge of the state Narendra Singh Raina as he arrived on a two-day visit during which he will hold zonal meetings with the party leaders and office-bearers from across the state. He is reviewing the Punjab BJP’s organisational activities and preparations for the Assembly elections. “These meetings covering all 23 districts of Punjab will be focused on strengthening the state BJP organisation down to the booth level, taking the policies and achievements of the Narendra Modi government to the people of the state,” said a party leader. Santhosh’s remark about the BJP’s plan to go alone in the Assembly elections assumes significance in the backdrop of recent statements by the SAD leaders hinting at a possible renewal of an alliance with the BJP. On August 20, the SAD’s Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur, wife of party chief Sukhbir Badal, indicated the possibility of a ti-up with the BJP while addressing party workers in Longowal. Her brother and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia endorsed her statement the following day, saying Harsimrat was speaking about the sentiments of people. He added that any decision on an alliance would be taken by the leadership of both the parties. One of the oldest allies of the BJP, the SAD had walked out of the NDA as well as the Modi government in September 2020 during the famers’ agitation against the now-repealed central agricultural laws. The Akali Dal and the BJP had contested the 2022 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls separately in Punjab, with both the parties facing debacle in them. The speculation about a renewed alliance between the two parties was fuelled by Sukhbir Badal’s move to call on PM Modi in Delhi on August 7 during the monsoon session of Parliament. The state BJP leaders, including Kewal Singh Dhillon , have however maintained that the party would contest the Punjab elections on its own. “Now this statement has come from the BJP national general secretary (organisation). Hence, on the BJP front, there are no talks about an alliance. Our focus is on building our organisational structure,” said Pritpal Singh Baliawal, state party spokesperson. On Monday, Santhosh held the BJP’s zonal organisational meetings in Patiala and Bathinda. The Patiala meeting was attended by party leaders from Mohali, Patiala North, Patiala Urban, Patiala South, Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur, while the Bathinda meeting covered Barnala, Mansa, Bathinda Rural, Bathinda Urban, Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka and Faridkot. On August 25, the BJP’s zonal meetings will be held in Ludhiana , Jalandhar and Amritsar. The Ludhiana huddle will cover Ludhiana Rural, Ludhiana Urban, Moga, Jagraon, Khanna, Malerkotla and Ropar, while the Jalandhar meeting will involve leaders from Jalandhar North, Jalandhar Urban, Jalandhar South, Hoshiarpur Urban, Hoshiarpur Rural, Nawanshahar and Kapurthala. The zonal meeting in Amritsar will cover Amritsar Urban, Amritsar Rural I and II, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Batala, Pathankot and Ferozepur. Santhosh would also hold a meeting with the state party general secretaries in Amritsar. These meetings are aimed at galvanising the BJP’s leaders and workers at the grassroots level besides ensuring better coordination among them ahead of the Assembly polls. If the BJP and the SAD do not have an alignment, the Punjab elections will witness a multi-cornered battle with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) already facing a challenge from the principal Opposition Congress.