The BJP on Sunday launched its statewide outreach campaign from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s bastion Dhuri and pitched erstwhile Punjab ruler Ranjit Singh’s governance model as the party’s roadmap for the state.
Initiating the drive, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon and party’s Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini also dared the CM to seek a re-election from the Assembly segment in the state poll scheduled for early next year.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema termed the BJP’s promises as “hollow” and said people would not be “swayed by divisive politics and false narratives” being built by the party.
The BJP intends to cover all 117 Assembly constituencies in the state ahead of the elections next year. Its leaders have repeatedly said that the party would go solo in the poll.
Taking a dig at the Punjab CM, Saini said, “Mann’s focus has remained only on telling jokes and mocking everyone. Cinema halls run on jokes, not states. States run on development works”.
He claimed every crop was being procured on MSP in Haryana, where farmers were on firmer footing that those of Punjab.
He also accused Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal of “misleading people by telling lies”.
“I appeal to the people of Punjab to form a BJP government in Punjab once, and you will see that Punjab will be the first state in the country where traders, farmers and every section will be prosperous,” he asserted.
Earlier addressing his maiden public rally in Dhuri after assuming charge as the Punjab BJP president, Dhillon predicted that Mann would not contest the next Assembly election from Dhuri, alleging that the CM had “failed to deliver on the promises” made to the people of his own constituency.
“Four years have passed, the roads remain broken, youth continue to struggle with unemployment, and farmers are still waiting for their dues. The Chief Minister is busy holding press conferences in Chandigarh while Dhuri suffers from neglect,” he alleged.
Presenting his vision for Punjab, Dhillon said that the governance model of Maharaja Ranjit Singh remains an enduring source of inspiration and a benchmark for the state’s future.
Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Punjab was a place where every farmer was prosperous, every faith respected, and no one lived under fear. We are committed to building such Punjab, where everyone enjoys equality and lives with dignity,” he said.
Reacting to the rally, Cheema posted a video on social media, showing vacant chairs.
“In this video, Haryana Chief Minister Sh. @NayabSainiBJP can be seen addressing rows of empty chairs at a so-called public gathering in Dhuri. These vacant seats send a clear message— @BJP4Punjab has failed to connect with the people of Punjab,” he claimed.
Earlier, some AAP leaders and workers held a protest in Babanpur village of Dhuri against the visit of Saini and raised slogans against the BJP for it alleged “anti-Punjab policies
