SNE NETWORK.CHANDIGARH.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is performing well across the country. The party has formed governments in many states on its own. Recently, the BJP won the assembly elections in Haryana with a huge majority. Despite this, the party is unable to make inroads in Punjab’s Hindu population.
According to the 2011 census, the total population of Hindus in the state is 38.5 percent. There are 45 assembly constituencies in the state where the number of Hindu voters is high, despite this the BJP’s magic is not working.
The party has not been able to do anything special in the assembly, Lok Sabha and by-elections in Punjab and has had to face defeat. According to political experts, breaking ties with the Shiromani Akali Dal, internal factionalism and SC votes going to the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are the main reasons for this.
BJP’s graph has been falling continuously since the alliance with Akali Dal broke. Hindu vote has always gone with Congress in the state, but after the alliance with SAD, BJP also got the support of Hindu voters. Due to this, BJP also formed BJP-Akali government thrice in alliance with Akali. The party has also suffered due to SC and urban Hindu voters going to Congress and AAP. Along with winning more seats in urban areas, Captain Amarinder Singh had formed Congress government twice in the state.
Similarly, AAP also performed well in Hindu-dominated urban areas in the year 2022 and formed its government in the state for the first time. In this way, BJP has also suffered due to division of Hindu urban votes between Congress, AAP and Akali supporters moving away from the party after breaking the alliance with SAD. Earlier, BJP used to contest 23 assembly and 3 Lok Sabha seats in alliance with SAD, but now the party has to contest maximum seats on its own.
Factionalism in the state leadership is also a big problem for the party. Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar was missing during the campaign in the by-election. After breaking the alliance with SAD, BJP contested the assembly elections on 73 seats on its own in the year 2022, but it got only 2 seats. After this, the party also lost the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-election. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP did not get any seat, while now the party remained empty handed even in the by-elections on four assembly seats.
Punjab University political science professor Ashutosh Kumar said that BJP has always been dependent on Akali Dal in Punjab. It will take time to make an identity on its own strength. Secondly, Hindu voters are also going with Congress and AAP, which has caused loss to BJP. Similarly, due to mixing of urban and rural areas after delimitation, BJP’s vote has also been affected.
The party’s vote share has increased in the Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, the party has also performed well in the assembly by-elections. The party has entered the field with preparations for the year 2027 and the party will get good results in the upcoming elections. – Arvind Khanna, Vice President, BJP Punjab.