After RSS chief Bhagwat’s London gurdwara visit, Nitin Nabin to lead Sikh-Punjabi outreach in Uttarakhand

After RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat prayed at a historic gurdwara in London where Shaheed Udham Singh briefly stayed while pursuing his mission to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, BJP president Nitin Nabin will lead an event in Uttarakhand to honour the contributions of Punjabis and Sikhs to the state.

During his two-day visit to the election-bound state, beginning September 9, Nabin will attend what BJP has termed Punjabi Gaurav Sammelan in Rudrapur.

“The event will celebrate the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Punjabi community while acknowledging its distinctive contributions to the social, economic and cultural development of Uttarakhand,” BJP said while announcing Nabin’s visit to the hill state.

Significantly, Nabin has chosen Haldwani to hold a crucial organisational meeting of the Uttarakhand BJP’s core committee. The city has recently been in the news following allegations by the Congress that a venue used by its president, Mallikarjun Kharge, during his last visit to the state was subsequently “purified”.

Nabin has also planned a youth outreach programme in Haldwani, where he is expected to mount a counter-offensive against the Congress.

On September 10, Nabin will also participate in an ex-servicemen’s sammelan.

The programme, designed with an eye on the upcoming election, is particularly aimed at connecting with the state’s Sikh and Punjabi electorate.

Sikhs constitute just 2.34 per cent of Uttarakhand’s population, according to the Census 2011. However, the community has significant electoral influence in as many as nine Assembly constituencies in Udham Singh Nagar, where 1.8 lakh of the state’s nearly 2.5 lakh Sikhs reside.

These constituencies include Rudrapur, where BJP will host the Punjabi Gaurav Sammelan.

BJP hopes that the message of this outreach will also resonate in poll-bound Punjab.