Maghi Mela sets the stage for 2027 Punjab polls as BJP makes debut, AAP returns after a decade
Prior to their break-up in September 2020, a political conference at Maghi Mela used to be traditionally organised by SAD, joined by BJP; Sukhbir Badal says SAD’s event this time will “set the tone for its success in the Assembly polls”
As part of its preparations for the Maghi Mela, the SAD has been holding public meetings in the Malwa region. More than five years after its break-up with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the BJP is going to hold its own political conference at the annual Maghi Mela in Sri Muktsar Sahib on January 14, signalling an aggressive push to set the tone in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections.
The Maghi Mela, held to honour the Sikhs killed in the 1705 Battle of Khidrana against the Mughals, is one of Punjab’s biggest religious events.
It is also politically significant since political conferences also became one of the fair’s major features over the years.
With the Assembly elections slated for February 2027, next year’s Maghi Mela may not see any political events due to possible imposition of the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct during that period.
The BJP’s decision to organise its event at the Maghi Mela – for the first time on its own – comes amid renewed speculation over the possible revival of the SAD-BJP alliance. Known as the BJP’s oldest ally, the Sukhbir Badal-led SAD had walked out of the NDA in September 2020 in protest against the Centre’s now-repealed three farm laws. Prior to that, a political conference at the Maghi Mela used to be traditionally organised by the SAD, with the BJP leaders sharing the stage with them.
Adding to the churn, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will also organise a political conference at the Maghi Mela, nearly a decade after it had last held it.
The AAP had last convened a high-profile conclave at this fair in 2016, when the party was expanding its footprint in Punjab, with its national convener Arvind Kejriwal and then Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann, the current Chief Minister, donning turbans there to kickstart their 2017 Assembly election campaign.
Confirming the AAP’s presence at the mela, the party’s Muktsar MLA Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar said, “We will be doing the political conference at Kotkapura Road. Our preparations are in full swing. CM Bhagwant Mann will be in attendance… We have requested Arvind Kejriwal to attend it too.”
Asked why the AAP was returning to the Maghi Mela after so many years, Brar said, “The CM was already scheduled to visit Muktsar regarding a few projects, hence a conference was also planned. Moreover, we are here to talk about our government’s work done in the last four years.”
The AAP conference also assumes significance as Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of Sikhs, has summoned Mann to appear at the Akal Takht Secretariat in Amritsar on January 15 for allegedly “displaying an anti-Sikh mentality”. There is also a buzz that the party may make election-related announcements from the Maghi Mela stage.
With the SAD and the BJP set to organise their separate gatherings at Muktsar, and the AAP returning there, the Maghi Mela is said to be witnessing an intense revival of political activity, even though attempts have been made since 2018 to depoliticise the festival.
Confirming the BJP’s plans, state party president Sunil Jakhar said, “Yes, we will be organising a conference at Muktsar and local teams are making preparations. The conference aims to show the natural progression of the BJP in Punjab and what the party has done for Sikhs to respect their religious sentiments.”
Jakhar asserted that the BJP has expanded beyond its traditional urban base, claiming that “The party is no longer confined to urban areas and has reached out to every village and rural pocket of the state.”
Highlighting the political messaging of the conference, Jakhar added, “The focus of the conference will be Punjab and Punjabiyat… to restore the lost glory of the state as law and order has deteriorated. Economically, Punjab is in deep debt and we also need to restore the social fabric of the state and maintain the communal harmony. With this message, we will be reaching out to the masses (from the mela).”
Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has been holding meetings with the SAD workers ahead of the event, said the conference would witness a “massive show of support for Akali Dal”. “The conference will set the tone for the SAD’s success in the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections,” he claimed.
The SAD seems to be buoyed by its performance in the recent zila parishad (ZP) and panchayat samiti (PS) polls, where it secured a majority in three ZPs and registered an overall good showing despite being in the Opposition, which the party sees as a sign of its revival in the state.
The Congress has chosen not to hold its political conference at the mela. Congress leaders said the party would instead hold a rally in Muktsar after the mela, maintaining that it is adhering to the Akal Takht directive discouraging political conferences at melas associated with Sikhs’ martyrdom.
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by ex-MP Simranjit Singh Mann will organise its own conference at the mela. And the Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) will also do the same – it was actually floated from the Maghi Mela last year.
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