Haryana CM Saini Leads BJP Effort to Win Panjab

May

2026

After the recent state elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance now rules in 21 Indian states and Union Territories. BJP is now focusing on Panjab in the 2027 state Assembly elections. Since the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (1996–2020) alliance, BJP has managed to gain support from urban Panjab’s Hindu trading class voters who comprise around 10–15% of total voters. However, the party lacks a base among rural Panjab's Sikh voters. Yet, no set of voters is a monolith, even on religious lines. Panjab’s Scheduled Caste population is 31.94%—the highest proportion among Indian states. Other Backward Classes (OBC) are estimated at roughly 31% including groups such as Sainis and Ramgarhias, many of whom are Sikhs. Nearly 70% of Panjab’s population exists outside the Jatt Sikh fold that has dominated the state's politics. BJP's Panjab plan is led by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini who in the last seven months has visited Panjab 70 times. On 4 May, CM Saini addressed an OBC meet in Rupnagar. He highlighted the community’s contribution to nation-building and alleged it had long been denied due opportunities in Panjab. Urging support for the party, he listed measures for OBCs by the BJP government in other states: representation in party, reservation in education, and the constitutional status for the OBC Commission. Before Rupnagar, CM Saini attended the 24^th Nirvana (Liberation) Day ceremony of Brahmanand Ji Maharaj Bhuriwale, a Dalit (marginalized caste) icon in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, where he described him as a 'walking embodiment of divine light’. After that, CM Saini visited Mandi Gobindgarh, one of Panjab’s key industrial hubs where he held a meeting with industrialists to discuss investment opportunities, industrial development and ways to strengthen economic co-operation in the region. However, BJP’s outreach among farmers continues to be unsuccessful. On 15 May, Chandigarh police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesting Panjab farmers who tried to march into Chandigarh to submit a memorandum to Chandigarh Administrator and Panjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. The farmers were demanding a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price, resolution of the river water dispute and repeal of certain provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 (earlier coverage).