On its own, BJP may spring a surprise in Punjab

Jupinderjit Singh

Chandigarh, May 31

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gone full throttle in the Punjab Lok Sabha elections this time and can prove to be a dark horse in some constituencies. This is the first general election where it is fighting on its own.

The BJP is standing on its feet and proving that it is going to stay in the state. We don’t have the baggage of drug abuse and corruption. — Sunil Jakhar, BJP state president

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As it was contesting elections earlier in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD), the party had an established cadre only in three Lok Sabha seats including Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar. This is the only party whose candidates have faced huge protests by the farmers and the campaign was badly hit. However, by the fag end of the campaigning, national leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi created some ripples in electioneering. Prime Minister Modi focused on Patiala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur constituencies suggesting the focus of the party.

The party seemed to be trying to consolidate urban or a specific community’s votes hoping that in a multi-cornered contest, getting majority of votes from one section of population can prove to be a game changer. The party relied on attracting candidates from other parties, especially the Congress, than its own leaders. Out of the 13 seats, 11 candidates have recently joined the party.

“BJP is riding the TINA factor- there is no alternative – in Punjab. In 2022 elections, people did not vote for the AAP but they voted against the Congress and the Akalis. Now, the voters are disillusioned with AAP. The BJP is standing on its feet and proving that it is going to stay in the state,” said state party chief Sunil Jakhar.