Killi Chahlan (Moga): Ending speculation over a patch-up with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections alone. Asserting that the BJP is done playing the “Chhota Bhai” (younger brother) in the state, Shah launched a high-decibel campaign from the politically vital Malwa belt, promising a double-engine government to rescue Punjab from drugs and debt.
Addressing the Badlaav Rally at Killi Chahlan in Moga, Shah made it clear that the era of the BJP playing second fiddle in Punjab is over. “Whenever we came before you in the past, we were the junior partner. But from today, the BJP begins its campaign to form its own government in Punjab. You have tried the Congress, the Akalis, and AAP; now give us a chance,” he said.
19% formula, anti-conversion plank
Shah used the BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha performance—where the party secured a 19% vote share in Punjab despite winning no seats—as a springboard for his 2027 claim. He cited historical precedents to boost cadre morale, noting that the BJP has transitioned from a 19% vote share to forming governments in states like Assam, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Manipur.
In a move to consolidate the Hindu and urban vote bank, Shah said the anti-conversion Bill would be the first the BJP would bring if voted to power. “Our Sikh Gurus made supreme sacrifices against forced conversions. Yet, the Congress and AAP treat those behind these conversions as a vote bank,” Shah alleged. He made a major poll promise: “Give BJP the mandate in 2027, and we will bring an anti-conversion Bill within a month of taking office.”
‘Mann is Kejriwal’s pilot, Punjab his ATM’
Launching a scathing attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government, the home minister accused the chief minister of neglecting the state to serve his party boss. “The chief minister is merely working as a pilot. His only job is to fly (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal across the country on Punjab’s state-funded aircraft,” Shah said, alleging that the state exchequer has become an “ATM” for the AAP’s national expansion.
On the state’s sensitive drug problem, Shah cited reports that 45% of heroin smuggling in the country is linked to Punjab. “I assure you, within two years of forming a BJP government, we will wipe out this business entirely,” he said, drawing parallels to the Centre’s crackdown on Naxalism and the abrogation of Article 370.
For over two decades, the BJP operated as a junior ally to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, typically contesting only 23 of the 117 seats. However, the alliance fractured in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. In the 2022 assembly elections, the BJP contested 73 seats in a multi-cornered contest but managed to win only two, with a vote share of 6.6%. The AAP, meanwhile, swept the state with 92 seats. Despite the 2022 performance, the BJP has been bolstered by inductions from the Congress and SAD over the last two years.
