Punjab news: BJP-SAD pact 'not closed' chapter

That said, the BJP made it clear that it was preparing to enter the Punjab electoral arena on its own and would fight the 2027 Assembly elections in the state on three issues — drug menace, economic stagnation and rampant conversions.

As reported by The Tribune first, BJP president Nitin Nabin will visit Punjab from June 20 to 22 and will mark International Yoga Day (June 21) in a border area, most likely Amritsar.

The BJP sources also made it clear that the party was strategising to go it alone but added that the pact with the SAD was not something "out of the question".

"The fact is in politics there is nothing called a closed chapter. Also, the BJP has never broken away with any ally. The SAD took a stand and moved out. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections also, engagements happened but we were expected to contest just three of Punjab's 13 seats which was not reasonable at all," said a top saffron source.

Another senior BJP leader added that the party used to historically contest 23 seats in alliance with the Akalis when the two parties were together.

"In 2022 Punjab elections, the BJP contested 65 seats. In 2027, we will go much further," said a senior leader.

Asked about the context in which an alliance with the SAD might be possible, a top BJP leader said, "The SAD will have to first start grasping ground realities."

The BJP leaders admitted that they would stitch an umbrella coalition in Punjab.

The reference was to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini intensifying his outreach in the state. Saini, a prominent OCB face of the BJP, is expanding the party's access among backwards classes of Punjab — a group numerically next only to Dalits.

By anointing a Jat Sikh, Kewal Singh Dhillon, as the party chief in Punjab, the BJP feels it has made a start at wooing Sikhs. Asked what role former state chief Sunil Jakhar would have, a senior BJP source said, "The BJP is like a banyan tree. There will be a role for everyone."