Ahead of every election season, Punjab’s political parties step up outreach to the large Punjabi diaspora through their overseas units. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which came to power in 2022 with significant support from Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), has again intensified efforts to strengthen its emotional and financial connect with the community.
Punjab has an estimated 50-60 lakh NRIs worldwide, including around 12 lakh in Canada, 7 lakh in the UK, 2.5 lakh in the US, 2.3 lakh in Australia and 2 lakh in Italy. Many remain actively engaged in Punjab’s politics by supporting candidates financially and influencing public opinion through social media. Even second-generation Punjabis abroad, from actor Diljit Dosanjh to Canada’s New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh and industrialist Kanwal Rekhi, continue to maintain close ties with their ancestral state.
The AAP government has been organising regular NRI milnis to address grievances. NRI Affairs Minister Dr Ravjot Singh conducts an online interaction on the second Wednesday of every month and a division-wise physical meeting in the last week of each month. This month’s online session, however, was cancelled as the minister was occupied with the Sham Churasi municipal elections.
At a physical milni held in Mohali on June 24 for NRIs from Mohali, Ropar, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib, the minister claimed that 25,870 of the 26,828 complaints received between January 2022 and May 2026 had been resolved. He also said 1,187 FIRs had been registered and 1,451 accused arrested.
Former NRI Sabha, Jalandhar, president Jasvir Singh Gill questioned the claims. “If the minister can prove that even 10 cases have actually been resolved, I will personally go and thank him,” he said. Gill also criticised the timing of the meetings, saying few NRIs visit Punjab during the peak summer months.
An official from the NRI Affairs Department said previous Shiromani Akali Dal governments organised large annual NRI sammelans attended by ministers from Canada and the UK, while the AAP has opted for smaller, but more frequent, interactions. Since 2022, the government has organised around 14-15 NRI milnis. The department was particularly active under former minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who introduced online milnis that enabled 50-55 NRIs abroad to interact with the Punjab Government during each session.
However, some of Dhaliwal’s initiatives remain incomplete. His proposal to create a comprehensive database of Punjabis living abroad never moved beyond the planning stage, said former NRI Sabha president Parvinder Kaur Banga.
Mohali AAP MLA Kulwant Singh defended the government’s record, saying most NRI families, particularly in Mohali, were satisfied with the handling of their issues, especially property-related matters.
The Shiromani Akali Dal has also intensified its outreach. An eight-member delegation recently concluded a three-week tour of Brampton, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary in Canada. Party leader Harjaap Singh Sangha said the delegation held meetings attended by 300 to 2,000 persons and had revived overseas units that had remained inactive for nearly a decade. Another SAD team has toured Australia and New Zealand with a similar agenda.
The Congress has not yet launched any comparable outreach programme.
Despite these initiatives, the plight of Punjabis deported from the US after attempting illegal entry through the “dunki” route remains a major concern. Apart from constituting a special investigation team to crack down on fraudulent immigration firms, the government has made little progress on its promises of rehabilitation, skill development and placement for returnees.
