The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab faced an unusual conundrum ahead of the civic elections — finding suitable candidates to contest the polls. Once a party where ticket requests poured in by the dozen, the saffron party this time struggled to attract even its seasoned members. The absence of prominent leaders from the candidate list has sent shockwaves through political circles, raising serious questions about the party’s internal dynamics.
Discontent brewed within the BJP as party loyalists criticized a lack of strategy, discipline, and effective leadership. The focus on accommodating turncoats, particularly from the Congress, has left dedicated workers feeling alienated. This disarray comes amid the party’s repeated electoral failures in Punjab — be it assembly, Lok Sabha, or bypolls. As the BJP attempted to present a united front for the upcoming municipal elections, cracks within its foundation became more evident than ever.
There was a time when securing a BJP ticket in Punjab required influence and connections, with aspirants lobbying from grassroots leaders to top brass. Today, the scenario has flipped entirely. The party’s initial candidate list for Jalandhar’s municipal polls has sparked disbelief. Many of the chosen faces are political novices, some unaware of the names of district-level leaders, signaling a troubling shift in BJP’s approach.
Even for Patiala urban body polls, the names of prominent leaders like Anil Bajaj, Balwant Rai, and Chaudhari Jagdish were notably missing from the list.
This was not the result of a calculated strategy, rather it was a forced move. Reliable sources revealed that several senior leaders have withdrawn from the electoral race, disillusioned by the party’s declining reputation in Punjab. For them, the lack of a cohesive plan and the absence of clear leadership made contesting elections seem futile.
The BJP's organizational framework in Punjab has been steadily eroding. Insiders blamed the situation on influential leaders who failed to maintain the party’s discipline. A culture of favouritism, where Congress defectors were welcomed and given tickets over loyal BJP members, has alienated the grassroots cadre. Many former BJP stalwarts who defected to other parties and later returned were rewarded generously, only to abandon the party again. This pattern has disheartened loyalists, leading to a sharp decline in party morale.
Moreover, the party has failed to define its state-level leadership clearly. With no clarity of its state unit president Sunil Jakhar’s “resignation” and no visible frontrunner to lead the charge, workers feel directionless. This lack of clarity rendered the saffron brigade incapable of mounting an effective challenge to its rivals in Punjab’s political landscape.
BJP’s struggles in Punjab’s civic polls are emblematic of a deeper malaise within the state unit. By sidelining loyal workers and relying on turncoats, the party has alienated its core supporters. The absence of experienced leaders from the polls reflected their waning faith in the organization’s ability to recover.
For a party that once prided itself on discipline and strategic acumen, the current state of affairs in Punjab signaled the need for urgent introspection.
The BJP, for the first time since severing its decades-long alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), is set to contest Punjab’s civic body elections independently. The party is optimistic, bolstered by its improved vote share in the parliamentary polls held earlier this year, surpassing that of the SAD. It also banks on its appeal in urban areas with a strong Hindu voter base, where it expects to perform well. Despite not winning even a single seat in Lok Sabha elections, BJP got an 18.5 percent vote share — double what it got in 2019 when the party was in alliance with the SAD
“Even though Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring secured a win in the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, BJP’s Ravneet Singh Bittu demonstrated significant strength by leading in five key urban assembly segments — North, West, East, South, and Central. This reflects the party’s growing influence in urban constituencies, signaling a potential advantage in the upcoming municipal elections,” said a senior BJP leader in Ludhiana.
The BJP, emboldened by its strong performance in Patiala's urban wards during the recent Lok Sabha elections, is contesting the polls with renewed vigor. In Patiala alone, the BJP claims to have led in 49 out of 60 wards during the parliamentary polls.
BJP Seeks Governor’s Intervention for Fair Civic Polls; Alleges AAP Misusing State Machinery
Amid the ongoing civic election process in Punjab, the BJP has written a detailed letter to the Governor, alleging grave misconduct by the ruling AAP. The BJP has accused AAP of leveraging state machinery to intimidate opposition candidates and manipulate the electoral process. Among the allegations is a troubling incident in Patiala, where a candidate was allegedly unlawfully detained by the police immediately after filing his nomination papers.
BJP, in its letter, urged the Governor to ensure free and fair municipal elections, highlighting the misuse of power by the AAP-led Government. “We draw your attention to the pressing need for impartiality in the upcoming municipal elections in Punjab. It has come to light that the Punjab government, under political bias, is deploying state machinery for electoral gains. Such actions undermine democratic processes and erode public trust in the fairness of elections,” read the letter.
The saffron party also raised concerns about widespread malpractice, claiming that opposition candidates are being systematically targeted. According to BJP leaders, nomination papers are being torn in front of police officials, and candidates are being blocked from filing their papers at Returning Officers’ (RO) offices. Similar incidents, they said, were witnessed during recent panchayat elections, which were marred by violence.
