CHANDIGARH: With just a year left for the Punjab Assembly elections, political temperatures in the state are rising. Against this backdrop, the BJP has planned to hold a political conference during the Maghi Mela in Muktsar on January 14. Not to be left behind, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will also stage a rally on the same day.
Other political parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), SAD (Amritsar) and Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), have announced separate conferences on the occasion.
The Congress and SAD (Punar Surjit), a breakaway Akali faction, have decided not to organise any political rally this year.
It may be recalled that except for the Shiromani Akali Dal, the AAP and the Congress have not organised political events at the Maghi Mela since 2018, following a directive issued by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs.
The Akal Takht had advised political parties to refrain from holding conferences during major religious occasions.
The Maghi Mela is held annually to commemorate the 40 ‘Muktas’ (liberated ones) who laid down their lives while fighting the Mughals in 1705 at what was then known as ‘Khidrane di Dhab’. It is one of the largest religious gatherings in the state and carries political significance due to the long tradition of political conferences held on the occasion.
The AAP’s decision comes after the SAD, which is seeking to make a comeback in the state, announced that it would launch its campaign for the 2027 Assembly elections on January 14 at the Maghi Mela.
The SAD last held a rally on the occasion in 2016. This year’s rally will be held on Kotkapura Road near the memorial gate and is expected to be attended by party workers from five districts.
Muktsar MLA Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar of the AAP said that since all major political parties are holding conferences, his party also decided to organise an event.
“Our national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, state president Aman Arora, and several ministers and MLAs will attend the conference,” he said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a former ally of the BJP, will hold its political conference at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) ground on Malout Road. The party leadership has begun touring villages to mobilise workers.
Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), headed by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, will also hold a conference.
For the first time, the BJP will organise a rally in Muktsar during the mela, having selected a site close to the Akali Dal venue on the Muktsar–Malout Road. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, the party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, and other state leaders will attend.
Local leaders have requested the state leadership to invite Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Ravneet Singh Bittu to the rally.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the party had decided to hold its rally after January 14, as it abides by the 2017 Akal Takht edict advising political parties not to organise such events on religious occasions.
“Since other parties are holding rallies to demonstrate strength, we will also organise a rally in Muktsar, but only after the Maghi Mela,” he added.
Devotees visit historic gurdwaras in Muktsar on Maghi, a day after Lohri, to pay obeisance.