CHANDIGARH: With an eye on the 2027 Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed former Congress leader Kewal Singh Dhillon, a Jat Sikh, as the new president of its Punjab unit. In Haryana, Dr Archana Gupta has been named the state BJP president. This marks the second time the party has appointed a woman to head its state unit.
The three-year tenure of incumbent Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar ends in July. Sources said he will continue to play an important role in the party’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Dhillon, 75, a former MLA from Barnala and vice-president of the state unit, is considered close to former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. He joined the BJP in 2022 after leaving the Congress following the party’s defeat in the Punjab Assembly elections.
Hailing from Tallewal village in Barnala district, Dhillon served as MLA from Barnala between 2007 and 2017 before losing to AAP’s Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer. He also lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur to Bhagwant Mann. After joining the BJP, he contested the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll and the Barnala Assembly bypoll in 2024, but was unsuccessful in both.
Punjab RSS in-charge Mantri Srinivaslu had been advocating Dhillon's name, and BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh had been advocating for a Sikh leader to head the state unit, sources said. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini has also reportedly supported the move to project a Sikh face in Punjab politics.
The BJP has traditionally given key roles to Hindu leaders, sources said.
Analysts say the appointment is a strategic move by the BJP to strengthen its position in Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The party is also expected to rely on Dhillon’s organisational experience from his Congress years to rebuild its cadre base.
Sources said other contenders included Jagmohan Raju, Manjit Singh Rai, former finance minister Manpreet Badal, and Union Minister of State for Railways, Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former Chief Minister Beant Singh.
In Haryana, Dr Archana Gupta will replace Mohal Lal Badoli as state BJP president. She has previously served as state general secretary, Panipat district Mahila Morcha president, and district BJP president.
From 2010 to 2016, she served as district co-convener and also held the post of vice president in Haryana. In addition, she was the president of the Mahila Morcha from September 4, 2016, to August 18, 2020.
A radiologist by profession, Gupta runs a diagnostic centre in Panipat’s Sector 11 and has been associated with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). Born in 1968 in Atta village, Panipat, she comes from a family where her grandfather, Surajbhan, was a freedom fighter.
Her husband, Dr Anil Gupta, is an eye specialist from Jind. Her daughter Arushi is also a doctor by profession, while her son Aviral, studied at the London School of Economics.
The party leadership’s decision is being viewed as part of its broader organisational and electoral strategy ahead of the next Assembly polls.
Before Archana Gupta, veteran BJP leader Kamla Verma served as the Haryana BJP president. She passed away in 2021 at the age of 93 due to Covid-associated mucormycosis.