The results of the recent urban local body elections in Punjab have raised serious questions for the BJP ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The party won only 172 of the 1,977 seats contested. This outcome is a significant setback for a party that recently wrested West Bengal from the Trinamool Congress and has set its sights on coming to power in Punjab.
The results suggest that the BJP will need to rethink its strategy in order to become a major political force in Punjab. Despite possessing a strong organisational network, inducting several prominent leaders from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, and projecting known Sikh faces within its ranks, the party has failed to create the political momentum required to expand its influence in the state.
One reason may be that the BJP’s broader political agenda does not resonate with a significant section of Punjab’s electorate. The state has suffered from religious and communal tensions, both before and after Independence. The memory of those experiences continues to shape the state’s political consciousness and influences voter preferences.
The BJP’s struggle in Punjab is not new. Its predecessor, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1952-1977), also failed to secure substantial support in post-Independence Punjab, even when Hindus constituted a majority before the state’s reorganisation in 1966. In the Assembly elections of 1952, 1957 and 1962, the Jana Sangh won only two, nine and eight seats respectively, with a vote share of 5.6%, 8.6% and 9.7%. The party could not significantly consolidate Hindu support despite controversies surrounding the Punjabi Suba movement.
Following the reorganisation of 1966, Punjab became a Sikh-majority state. This development created greater political space for the Shiromani Akali Dal, which became a major challenger to the Congress. In the 1967 Assembly elections, the Congress won 48 of the 104 seats but failed to form the government. A coalition led by Akali leader Justice Gurnam Singh came to power with the support of Opposition parties, including the Jana Sangh, which won nine seats and around 10% of the vote.
This period was marked by political instability. The coalition governments formed in 1967 and later in 1969 could not complete full terms because of defections and internal divisions. In the 1972 Assembly elections, the Congress returned to power under Giani Zail Singh, while the Jana Sangh failed to win a single seat despite contesting from 33 constituencies.
The post-Emergency period marked a turning point in Indian politics. Opposition parties united against the Congress and formed the Janata Party, into which the Jana Sangh merged. In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, the Janata Party, in alliance with the Akali Dal, won three of Punjab’s 13 parliamentary seats with a vote share of 12.5%. In the subsequent Assembly elections, the Janata Party won 25 seats with nearly 15% of the vote, and a SAD-Janata Party coalition government was formed under Parkash Singh Badal.
The collapse of the Janata Party led to the formation of the BJP in 1980. In that year’s Assembly elections, the saffron party contested 41 seats but won only one, securing 6.5% of the vote. Punjab entered a turbulent period marked by militancy and political instability. The state eventually came under President’s Rule in 1983.
In the 1985 elections, the BJP won six seats with about 5% of the vote. In 1992, elections were conducted under the shadow of terrorism and witnessed a low voter turnout. The BJP again won six seats, while its vote share rose to 16.5%.
A major shift occurred in 1996 when the BJP entered into a long-term alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal. The alliance remained intact until 2020, when it collapsed over the controversial farm laws enacted by the NDA government. As the junior partner, the BJP generally contested 23 Assembly seats and three Lok Sabha seats.
The alliance benefited the BJP considerably. In the 1997 Assembly elections, it won 18 of the 22 seats it contested, with a vote share of 8.33%, becoming part of the SAD-led government. It became the first non-Congress dispensation to complete a full term after Punjab’s reorganisation.
The BJP’s fortunes fluctuated thereafter. It won only three seats in the 2002 Assembly elections but bounced back strongly in 2007, winning 19 of its 23 seats. In 2012 and 2017, it secured 12 and three seats, respectively. In the parliamentary elections between 1998 and 2019, the BJP consistently won 1-3 seats while maintaining a vote share of roughly 10-11%.
After the breakup of the SAD-BJP alliance, the party contested the 2022 Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with the support of smaller splinter groups. The results were disappointing. The BJP won only two Assembly seats in 2022 with 6.6% of the vote and failed to win a single parliamentary seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls despite securing a vote share of over 18%.
The verdict of Punjab’s electorate against the BJP is therefore not a recent phenomenon. Even during periods when the party has enjoyed strong national popularity under Narendra Modi, it has failed to translate that support into major electoral gains in Punjab.
Over the years, the BJP has attempted to broaden its appeal by highlighting issues such as the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, facilitating the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, promoting Sikh leadership within the party and reaching out to Dalits, OBCs and various religious deras. Yet these efforts have not produced a significant expansion of its voter base. The decision to replace Sunil Jakhar with Kewal Dhillon as the state party chief is aimed at winning over Sikh voters.
History suggests that the BJP has struggled to emerge as a self-sustaining political force in Punjab. For much of its existence, its electoral success has depended on alliances rather than independent strength. Despite a long presence in the state through the RSS, Jana Sangh and the BJP, it has not yet succeeded in establishing itself as a dominant political alternative.
This raises an important question: Is it Punjab’s unique social fabric, political culture and tradition of pluralism that continues to limit the BJP’s prospects of capturing power in the state? The answer to that question may well determine the future trajectory of Punjab politics in the years ahead.
