PM sounds the poll bugle in Punjab
Mixing development with politics, the PM hit at State Government pitching the BJP as the alternative
Wearing a green turban in a symbolic outreach to Punjab’s farming community, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned his Jalandhar visit into a high-voltage mix of development and politics on Friday. Unveiling and inaugurating projects worth Rs 5,470 crore, PM Modi launched a blistering attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab Government, accusing it of corruption, mounting debt, poor governance, deteriorating law and order, and betraying farmers, women and youth.
With the Punjab Assembly elections just months away, PM Modi also targeted Congress over its leadership tussle and the Shiromani Akali Dal for being trapped in its own internal crisis. The sharp criticism of the SAD, coupled with his repeated call for an independent BJP Government in Punjab, signals that the party is preparing to chart its own electoral course rather than banking on a traditional alliance. Greeting the gathering in Punjabi with “Punjabio, kiven ho...chardi kala ch ho? “PM Modi repeatedly switched between Punjabi and Hindi, drawing loud applause from the packed rally. Earlier, after inaugurating projects worth over Rs 4,700 crore in Chandigarh and flagging off India’s first hydrogen-powered train in Haryana, he arrived in Jalandhar, interacted with passengers, schoolchildren and saints, and flagged off the Shri Sant Ravidas Express connecting Amritsar and Varanasi. He also met Dera Sachkhand Ballan head Sant Niranjan Das aboard the inaugural train.
Projecting the Union Government’s commitment to Punjab despite the BJP not being in power in the State, PM Modi said that NDA Government was leaving no stone unturned for its development.
He inaugurated 75 redeveloped Amrit Bharat railway stations, including the modernised Jalandhar Cantt railway station, inaugurated the Daulatpur Chowk-Kartoli railway line, opened another section of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, and laid the foundation stone for the 25.2-km Southern Ludhiana Greenfield Bypass.
PM Modi also accused the Punjab Government of surviving on borrowed money while development had stalled. Alleging that it was “enjoying on debt”, he claimed Government funds meant for Punjab were not being properly utilised and that the State Government merely pasted its own stickers on Union Government schemes while “hiding Punjab’s reality behind advertisements”.
Describing the ruling party as a “kattar beimaan” (hardcore dishonest) outfit, the PM alleged that corruption, bribery, and extortion had become its political identity, referring to corruption cases involving its leaders. Without naming him, he also cited the recent conviction of a former AAP leader in the 2020 Delhi riots case, accusing the party of questioning a court verdict for vote-bank politics.
The PM further accused the AAP Government of allowing law and order to deteriorate, claiming gang wars, extortion, attacks on police stations and drug trafficking had become common.
Drawing comparisons with neighbouring Haryana, Modi claimed farmers there were receiving MSP on 24 crops while employees received 60 percent dearness allowance, unlike in Punjab.
Making one of his strongest electoral pitches ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, Modi said Punjab now needed a BJP Government, insisting that only a “double-engine” administration could accelerate development. The rally also marked the first major BJP platform appearance of former AAP Rajya Sabha members Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh and Ashok Mittal after joining the party. However, Punjab political veteran and two-time former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh skipped the event.
