The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), buoyed by its improved performance in Punjab’s recently concluded local body elections, believes the results reflect the party’s growing acceptance in the state ahead of the 2027 assembly polls. Though still trailing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by a considerable margin, the BJP increased its tally from 49 seats in 2021 to 170 seats in elections held across 1,977 wards.
Senior BJP leaders said the outcome pointed to a shifting political mood in the state. “The AAP tried its best to prevent the BJP from campaigning, it used the state’s machinery, money and even muscle to prevent the BJP from gaining, but the public’s inclination is now showing,” a senior party functionary said.
Since the collapse of its alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2020, the BJP has been attempting to expand its footprint in Punjab independently. Its 2022 experiment of allying with former chief minister Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dindsa’s SAD (Sanyukt) failed to yield results, with the BJP winning only two of the 65 seats it contested while its allies drew a blank.
According to a senior leader, the party began laying the groundwork for the 2027 assembly elections immediately after the setback in 2022. The BJP has since focused on identifying local faces, mapping potential strongholds and building outreach among non-dominant caste groups in a bid to replicate the broader social coalitions it has built in other states.
“Since the BJP was in alliance with the SAD since 1998, it has largely been confined to the urban areas and drew support from a section of the non-Jats and Hindus. Over a period of time, attempts were made to increase the catchment area…a section of party leaders had been prodding the state unit to be more assertive. The RSS (the ideological fount of the BJP) had also flagged the issue of rampant conversions and prevalence of social ills,” another leader said.
Party leaders acknowledged that the compulsions of the alliance with the SAD and the absence of a strong leadership structure cutting across caste groups had restricted the BJP’s growth in Punjab over the years. The party’s vote share in the state has historically hovered between 6-8%, dipping below 5% during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and touching 16% in 1992 when the SAD boycotted the polls.
“Other than the limitation of being in an alliance, the BJP has also not been able to take control of the narrative that projects it as a Hindu party and also anti-minority. The narrative was predominantly used to defame the government when it came out with the three farm laws (now withdrawn),” the second leader added.
The induction of leaders from rival parties, particularly the Congress, including Union minister of state Ravneet Singh Bittu and state BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon, is being seen as part of the BJP’s attempt to broaden its appeal among Jat Sikhs. At the same time, party leaders insist the outreach is aimed at maintaining a broader social balance.
“The BJP walks the talk on Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. Unlike some regional parties who focus only on the predominant castes, we build a coalition of the whole samaj (communities), Hindus, Dalits and OBCs are as important as the Jat Sikhs,” the first leader said.
According to party estimates, Dalits constitute around 32% of Punjab’s population, upper castes between 40-45%, Jat Sikhs about 20%, and OBCs around 15-20%.
On the possibility of more leaders from rival parties joining the BJP ahead of the elections, the leader said the party remained open to inductions while also strengthening its organisational cadre.
“There is an attraction…people are drawn to the BJP. We saw that in the Rajya Sabha too (when six of the eight AAP leaders switched sides). While we are open to inducting more people, we have also focussed on strengthening the party’s own cadre. The PM has already spoken about the need to bring a million youngsters with no political lineage or experience…” the leader said.
He pointed to West Bengal as an example, where the BJP relied heavily on Trinamool Congress defectors in the 2021 elections but, according to the party, secured victory in 2026 on the back of a strengthened grassroots cadre and organisational network.
Opposition parties, however, have continued to attack the BJP over its dependence on defectors. Soon after Kewal Singh Dhillon was appointed Punjab BJP chief, chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Congress MP Manish Tewari criticised the party for relying on former Congress leaders.
In a post on X, Mann said: “Congratulations to Kewal Dhillon who was rejected by the people of Barnala in 2017-2019 and 2024 on becoming the President of the BJP. My sympathies with Sunil Jakhar. May God give the strength to Ravneet Bittu, Manpreet Badal, Fateh Jang Bajwa, Tarun Chugh and Ashwani Sharma to bear this humiliation.”
Tewari also mocked the appointment on X, saying: “It is a telling comment of the State of BJP in Punjab that they can only find former Congressmen to appoint as State Presidents…”
The BJP declined to respond directly to the criticism and said the party was currently working on plans to increase visits by senior leaders, organise public outreach programmes and deepen engagement with community leaders across Punjab.
