With just a year to go for Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to gain foothold in Punjab. The saffron party, which saw constricted growth in the state over the past few decades due to its now-dead alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, is working hard to succeed in the border state.
With one eye on winning as many Lok Sabha seats as it can in 2024, the BJP is hoping to do well on its own. The party recently welcomed several leaders from the Congress and is now reportedly receiving queries from those in the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well, boosting morale among cadre.
However, the new entrants have also led to some worry in the ranks as sooner or later, they’ll need to be accommodated in ticket distribution, inevitably at the expense of existing aspirants.
Senior entrants include former finance minister Manpreet Badal, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Raj Kumar Verka, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, Jaiveer Shergill and former Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar.
“The BJP will face the dilemma of adjusting those coming from other parties,” a senior party leader, who knows the affairs of Punjab too well, told News18.
Many Congress MPs, too, are said to be in touch with the BJP. So what is prompting leaders from the grand old party to look out? “The general pessimism within Congress leaders has percolated among state leaders and the only alternative is the BJP,” said a senior leader explains.
Keeping peace between the current flock and the turncoats is tricky but would in no way harm the BJP. It needs faces to fight elections on and the Lok Sabha election would anyway be fought in the name of PM Narendra Modi.
With the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP dropping the ball on law and order in the border state of Punjab while being embroiled in the excise duty scam in Delhi, the BJP is looking to capitalise on the dip in the ruling party’s fortunes.
The latest dent in AAP’s image in Punjab is the recent violence and provocative show of strength by pro-Khalistani preacher Amritpal Singh’s Waris Punjab De. The BJP has been cautious in coming out against Amritpal and is placing the blame squarely on AAP’s shoulders. It believes central agencies cannot step in right away as law and order is first and foremost a state subject. BJP leaders believe that if agencies like the NIA step in immediately, AAP and other parties would get an opportunity to accuse it of attacking the federal structure.
The BJP has seen growing acceptance in rural areas of Punjab, especially Malwa. The party has constituted mandals and booth committees, and believes that by July, it would have 100% booth constitution across the state. PM’s outreach to the Sikh community has created a positive perception for the party on ground.
Yogi Model vs AAP on Law & Order
“Punjab mein har doosra banda kehta hai Punjab ko ek Yogi chahiye (Every other leader in Punjab says the state needs a Yogi Adityanath),” said a senior leader explaining the situation in the state.
The farmers’ agitation did leave a bitter spot in the BJP’s relationship with the state, but with Yogi Adityanath turning around Uttar Pradesh’s law and order, the expectation is that the saffron party could do the same for Punjab.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured just two seats in the state, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. With PM Modi set to seek a third term in 2024, the importance of Punjab in BJP’s electoral calculation has gone up immensely.
Punjab sends 13 MPs to the Lower House of Parliament and the saffron party is hoping to increase its strength from Punjab in the 2024 General Elections. The party’s performance will depend on how well it is able to manage its original leadership and the new entrants. The plan to assimilate new leaders into the fold has already been put in place with the BJP set to launch ‘Nasha Mukti Yatra’ and other public contact programmes.
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