Punjab politics: Ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is BJP planning a major reshuffle in state?

Chandigarh: Is the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) in Punjab contemplating a major reshuffle in its organisational structure? After being marooned by its long-time alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal Badal (SAD-B), the BJP in Punjab is vying to bring the Sikh faces to the forefront of its Punjab politics and has even included Iqbal Singh Lalpura in its parliamentary board, the top decision-making panel of the saffron party even though Lalpura already holds the post of Chairman of National Commission for Minorities. 

Going by the buzzword, Punjab’s top BJP leadership has been summoned to Delhi by the party’s top brass to deliberate on the scenario post breaking of the alliance with SAD (B), especially in wake of the re-emergence of Bikram Singh Majithia in Akali politics after getting bail in a drug case. In the recently concluded Punjab assembly elections, BJP contested independently and won two seats as against 3 seats the saffron party won in the 2017 assembly elections which it contested in alliance with SAD(B).

It won't be a surprise if BJP picks up a Sikh face to be its Punjab president. Names of a few probable including Manjit Singh Rai, Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, Sukhwinder Pal Singh Garewal, Harjit Singh Garewal, and Fateh Singh Bajwa are already doing the round in the BJP circles. Ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, the Congress party’s former MLA from Qadian Fatehjang Bajwa - who is the younger brother of Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa - joined BJP and also contested from the Batala assembly constituency but lost the seat to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Amansher Singh.  If sources are to be believed, former BJP leader and Punjab cabinet minister Anil Joshi - who had shifted loyalty to SAD(B) ahead of assembly elections - is also mulling the possibility of re-joining the BJP.

Sources in BJP revealed that the BJP’s national secretary Tarun Chugh, who hails from Amritsar, has already started visiting Punjab frequently and meeting the BJP cadre. Rumours abound that the party could also mull over giving an opportunity to former Congress-turned-BJP leader Sunil Jakhar, who has over thirty years of experience in state politics.

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Notably, Parliamentary elections are to be held in 2024 and in recent Sangroor Parliamentary elections, BJP fielded ex-MLA Kewal Singh Dhillon to breach Punjab CM's turf. Dhillon was a staunch congressman but had joined the saffron party after he was denined a ticket by the Congress. Sangroor by-election was the first election of the Bharatiya Janata Party after the farmers' movement and though Dillion lost the seat, interestingly the leaders of the BJP did not face hostility during the election. BJP might be considering this as an acceptance of BJP leaders in Punjab. A few leaders in both the BJP and SAD (B) favour mending the broken ties for the ‘larger’ interest of the state and have also begun preparing grounds for forging the alliance.