BJP’s blueprint for Punjab polls: Deras, Akal Takht, digital outreach

Sources said Nabin’s recently concluded three-day visit to the poll-bound state has laid the groundwork for what is likely to be the party’s most focused Punjab campaign in recent years.

“The party’s work on Punjab began immediately after the West Bengal Assembly election results were announced last month. Outreach to deras, which influence a significant section of voters in the state, is already underway. The party will soon launch targeted engagement with specific groups, including caste-based communities, farmers, industrialists and the middle class,” a senior BJP leader said.

Estimated to number around 10,000, deras range from small socio-religious congregations to large cultural organisations with support cutting across caste groups. Over the years, they have emerged as influential centres of social and political mobilisation in Punjab, second only to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of Sikhism.

While the BJP has traditionally struggled to make political inroads into either constituency, RSS functionaries are said to maintain longstanding links with both, dating back to the pre-Independence era.

Sources said the seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MPs — six of whom were elected from Punjab — who recently joined the BJP after breaking ranks with the ruling party, are expected to play a key role in the campaign. Apart from providing organisational muscle, they are likely to be deployed to target the AAP government on governance and administrative issues.

“The newly inducted MPs would also be tasked with highlighting the failures and misdeeds of the AAP government, drawing on their experience within the party,” a source said.

The Punjab election is also expected to be a major organisational test for the BJP’s 46-year-old national president. Nabin, who has prior political experience in the state dating back to his tenure as BJP Yuva Morcha chief, had spent weeks campaigning in Punjab during the 2012 Assembly elections. Sources said this time he is likely to oversee the campaign closely through BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, a senior organisational leader from the state.

“Punjab will be an opportunity for him to demonstrate his organisational abilities. Given his earlier association with the state, he is expected to put in place a dedicated team that will report directly to him on election-related matters,” a party source said.

‘West Bengal model’

Taking a cue from its successful campaign in West Bengal, the BJP is also expected to invest heavily in digital outreach. Party sources said short-form videos, reels and issue-based social media content targeting unemployment, law and order and middle-class concerns are likely to feature prominently. Punjabi music platforms, which enjoy significant reach among the state’s youth, are expected to be used to amplify messaging around unemployment, drug abuse and industrial development.

One of the key variables, however, remains the stance of the Akal Takht.

“Both the SAD, which has traditionally enjoyed close ties with the Akal Takht, and the AAP, which is facing scrutiny over alleged desecration-related issues, are currently navigating strained equations with the institution. Its position could have a significant bearing on the political landscape,” a source said.

“The Akal Takht’s support could prove decisive. It has the potential to transform the BJP’s prospects from emerging as a strong Opposition force on its own to mounting a serious challenge for power,” the source added.