NEW DELHI: The BJP is keeping a hawk’s eye on the developments in Punjab. Party leaders believe it will not be smooth for Congress to handle a leadership change in the state, especially with Assembly elections around the corner. The saffron camp thinks President’s Rule or early elections can’t be ruled out, if outgoing CM Amarinder Singh demonstrates his strength in the next few days.
Singh’s resignation was keenly followed by BJP leaders who recaled the Congress veteran’s meetings with PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah last month, when he had been caught in a war with Navjot Singh Siddhu. The transfer of the Governor Banwari Lal Purohit from Tamil Nadu to Punjab recently is now seen within BJP as a planned move.
Purohit, a political veteran, is likely to exercise utmost caution and scrutiny in the transition of the government, said a senior BJP functionary, who added that the prospects of political instability in Punjab will have national security implications as well, considering its proximity with Pakistan.
Amarinder and BJP share a common bond in practising political nationalism, besides being on the common page over their anxiety to stop AAP from coming to power in the state.
The contentious farm laws have seemingly turned the BJP into a struggling political outfit in Punjab. Yet, Punjab for BJP is a state ripe for political experiments. The saffron outfit will also be willing to play a tactical role in the Assembly elections in February next year.
BJP is already free from the alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the top brass is learnt to have told state leaders that there’s nothing to lose in the state, which should make them ready for experiments.
For the record, the BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said that the Congress in Punjab is licking the dust to revive itself. He added that the manner in which a panic meeting of the Congress legislature party was summoned reflected adequately the panic and confusion among the ranks of the grand old party.