CHANDIGARH: As this three-year tenure of incumbent Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar ends in July, the party is likely to appoint a Sikh candidate as the state heads for polling in 2027.
Few known names have been making rounds, including Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Bittu is the grandson of former Chief Minister Beant Singh who had joined the BJP after quitting the Congress, while Badal is the first cousin of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Other persons being considered for the party president post are: Jagmohan Singh Raju former bureaucrat turned politician, Kewal Dhillon who joined the saffron party after resigning from the Congress, senior BJP leader Manjit Singh Rai, Rajya Sabha MP and founder chancellor of Chandigarh University Satnam Sandhu, former minister and EX-MLA Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, and ex-MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini, who has been visiting Punjab and participating in party functions and rallies, is pushing for a Sikh face, sources said.
After its historic victory in West Bengal, where it defeated Mamata Banerjee by securing 207 seats out of 290, the BJP has now set its eyes firmly on Punjab.
The preference for a Sikh face as president of the state unit reflects the ground reality the party cannot ignore. "The BJP is traditionally a Hindu-based party. But in Punjab, a Sikh face matters. The political arithmetic is straightforward: Sikh community is dominant in the state, and Punjab has always had a Sikh as chief minister," said a party leader on condition of anonymity.
Sources further added that with the 2027 Assembly election looming, the BJP is keen to shed its image of an outsider in a state where it has struggled to find its footing. Hindu leaders are also not entirely out of the picture. Senior leader Tarun Chugh, who has long been associated with the party's Punjab affairs, is also said to be in the reckoning.
