BJP Nominates Chugh to RS, INC’s Warring Stays & Ayali Joins 'Waris Panjab De'

June

2026

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament, RS) polls in five states. The list features BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh from Amritsar but does not feature sitting RS member and Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu—whose term ends on 21 Jun—or former BJP Panjab chief Sunil Jakhar. Chugh has been a long-time party strategist with deep roots in Panjab politics. The attempt seems to be to balance the party’s recent move to feature a Jatt Sikh Kewal Singh Dhillon as the Panjab BJP chief with a Hindu face. Nominating Chugh has also fuelled speculation over Bittu's future political role in Panjab, which goes to elections in early 2027. Bittu said he had completed 17 years in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) and the RS. Now he had 'packed his bags' and was fully prepared to move to Panjab. Yet, all does not seem well in the BJP camp following the appointment of Dhillon as state president. On 7 Jun, former Indian Administrative Services officer Dr. Jagmohan Singh Raju, who had been among the contenders for the top post, resigned as general secretary of the Panjab BJP. Meanwhile, the Panjab Indian National Congress (INC) remains deeply factionalized under its Panjab chief, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Senior INC leaders met in Delhi to finalize the party’s strategy for Panjab and discuss key political issues. They indicated that there would be no changes in the party’s leadership in the state. There was speculation that Warring would be replaced, but the party has decided otherwise, at least for now. A senior INC leader, however, said, on condition of anonymity, that a change was '100% likely'. The leader added, 'I am fairly certain that a new state president, a new Leader of Opposition, and head of the campaign committee will be appointed.' However, with elections nearing, INC might be making a mistake, as it did in 2021, when it named a new Chief Minister candidate and state party chief much closer to the elections. Concurrently, on 9 Jun, rebel Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Member of Legislative Assembly, Manpreet Singh Ayali, formally joined the jailed Member of Parliament from Khadoor Sahib Amritpal Singh's party SAD (Waris Panjab De) (earlier coverage).