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BJP to Run Punjab Campaign Under Modi’s Banner, Says Haryana Chief Minister

Party strategists view a nationalised campaign as a way to consolidate non-Jat OBCs, Dalits and urban voters to blunt Jat-dominated politics ahead of the 2027 assembly polls.

Nayab Singh Saini's mother is a non-Jat Sikh, and in Punjab, the Haryana CM is frequently seen wearing a saffron turban and speaking fluent Punjabi. (Image: Nayab Saini/X)

Overview

  • Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini publicly said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the BJP’s face in Punjab, citing the party’s West Bengal campaign as a model where Modi’s personal appeal drove votes.
  • BJP leaders reported that Saini is being used as a regional outreach asset to mobilise non-Jat OBC communities in Punjab rather than being projected as a chief ministerial candidate.
  • The party plans organisational changes ahead of 2027, and party sources say a Sikh is likely to be named Punjab BJP president when Sunil Jakhar’s tenure ends in July, with names such as Ravneet Singh Bittu and Manpreet Singh Badal mentioned.
  • Analysts and party sources say the strategy aims to replicate the ‘Haryana model’ of stitching together non-Jat OBCs, Dalits and urban voters after the farmers’ protests weakened the BJP’s ties with Jat Sikh groups and the Shiromani Akali Dal.
  • Punjab’s 2011 census figure shows Sikhs at about 57.7 percent of the population and analysts estimate Jat Sikhs around 30 percent, leaving a large non-Jat bloc that the BJP is targeting electorally as it readies for the 2027 polls.