BJP will contest 2027 Punjab polls to form own govt, says Shah, promises anti-conversion law, end to drug menace

Though Shah did not name any party, the BJP had in the past contested elections as junior partner in alliance with the Shiromani Aakli Dal, before the panthic party walked out of the NDA in 2020 over the now repealed farm laws. As an Akali Dal ally, BJP used to contest on 23 of 117 assembly seats and three of the 13 parliamentary seats. The alliance formed the government thrice –1997, 2007, and 2012. In 2022 Punjab polls, BJP had contested in alliance with Captain Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (later merged into the BJP) and SAD (Sanyukt). The BJP could snag only two seats with AAP securing 92.

Punjab, the Union Minister said, gave several opportunities to the Congress, Akalis and AAP, and should now give a chance to the BJP.

“We will bring a ‘badlaav’ (change) in Punjab”, he said.

He said that in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP got 19 per cent votes in Punjab. “It has been our track record that we form the government wherever we get 19 per cent votes. This happened in Odisha, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Uttarakhand. Now its is Punjab’s turn,” he said.

Donning a saffron turban, and invoking the Gurus several times during his speech, Shah said, if voted to power in Punjab, the “first law that the BJP government” will bring will be an anti-conversion law”.

Express photo by Gurmeet Singh

Guru Tegh Bahadur, he said, sacrificed his life while protecting Kashmiri Pandits from forceful religious conversions by the Mughals. This turban on my head is a symbol of how many sacrifices Gurus have made for us. Had Guru Tegh Bahadur not stood up, not a single Hindu would have been alive today,” said Shah

He also asserted that peace and development in Punjab were not possible without Hindu-Sikh unity, and “this unity is possible only under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

He further said that that according to a report, 45% of the country’s drug (heroin) trade takes place in Punjab alone. He said only PM Modi and the BJP can end the drug menace. “We promised to end naxalism and we did it. We promised to abrogate Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, we did. Now I am saying that we will end drugs in Punjab. Only a double engine government led by BJP under PM Modi can finish drugs from Punjab. Give one chance to BJP and drugs will be uprooted from Punjab within two years,” said Shah.

Targeting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said that Punjab doesn’t need a chief minister who makes people laugh, but the one who governs. “Seeing the current law and order situation, it doesn’t seem if there is any government here. Police officers and sarpanches are being shot dead brazenly. AAP came to power with a promise of parivartan, badlaav… but is this the change that people wanted?,” he asked.

“Have all of you got jobs? Have 16 medical colleges been opened? Where’s the Rs 20,000 crore that AAP had promised to earn from sand? Have you got the MSP on all crops? Have the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims got any compensation?”, he further asked pointing to the promises made by the AAP ahead of the 2022 polls.

Shah accused the AAP government of spending Rs 800 crore on advertisements. “Punjab has actually become an ATM for Kejriwal…he tours the entire country at the expense of the Punjab government and uses its chopper. CM Mann has done nothing except accompany Kejriwal as his pilot,” he added.

The Home Minister also targeted Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and Congress party over farmers’ issues and said the Modi-led Union government has procured highest quantity of crops on Minimum Support Price (MSP). “The previous Congress-led UPA governments gave Rs 22,000 crore budget for agriculture. We have increased it to Rs 1.40 lakh crore. Gandhi says the Indo-US trade deal is harmful for farmers but has failed to explain how.”

He further said that it was a blessing for the BJP that all major commemorative events of Sikh Gurus including Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 350th martyrdom anniversary, Guru Nanak’s 550th birth annivesary, came during the party’s tenure at the Centre. “We celebrated all of them in a grand way. There is no other example in the entire world of how Guru Gobind Singh’s Chhote Saahibzaade sacrificed their lives. Our government got national recognition for the day by announcing it as Veer Bal Diwas,” said Shah.

“It is only under the Modi government that 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims have been given Rs 5 lakh compensation. We gave citizenships to persecuted Sikhs from Afghanistan and Pakistan. We safely evacuated three saroops of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan. The Kartarpur Corridor was opened by the BJP government,” said Shah.

“Congress asks what have we done for Sikhs. At least we did not attack the Golden Temple with army tanks,” said Shah, targeting Congress on 1984 Operation Blue Star.