CHANDIGARH: After the culmination of the BJP's 13-day “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra”, which began on September 18 and travelled about 4,000 km through all 117 Assembly constituencies in the state, the saffron party commenced a crucial two-day brainstorming session on its 2027 Punjab election strategy on Thursday.
The discussions were held at Red Bishop Resort in Panchkula, Haryana, adjacent to Chandigarh, and will continue on Friday. They are being led by BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh, who is the primary leader and link between the BJP and the RSS at the national level.
Santosh had called all district presidents, district unit in-charges and co-in-charges for detailed deliberations on Thursday and Friday.
Sources said the BJP has already begun pinpointing strong seats where it believes it has winning potential, with discussions that commenced on Thursday expected to conclude on Friday. Ground feedback is being sought on the party's organisational depth, especially in rural areas where the BJP has traditionally been weak.
It is learnt that the issue of an alliance with old partner Shiromani Akali Dal or the breakaway Akali faction Akali Punar Surjit could come up, along with the question of whether the BJP should go solo, as the party has so far been claiming that it will contest all 117 Assembly seats.
“The meetings are taking stock of the response and the success of the public outreach we conducted on the issue of drugs, and discussions are being held on the strategy for the Punjab elections, due next year,” Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin has repeatedly said that while the party is building its own strength across all 117 seats in Punjab, alliance matters would be finalised later, depending on ground feedback, surveys and the aspirations of voters.
Interestingly, both BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal leaders have not been attacking one another at political rallies, in a sign that backchannel talks may be underway, though it is premature to draw any conclusions.
