BJP’s Punjab reset: How the party is trying to reinvent itself before polls

PM Narendra Modi with Punjab BJP President Kewal Dhillon and other BJP leaders during a rally in Jalandhar. (Express Photo, enhanced with AI)

6 min readChandigarhJul 18, 2026 07:12 AM IST

First published on: Jul 18, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Punjab this year, coming barely a month after BJP national president Nitin Nabin’s three-day tour of the state, is a clear signal that after decades in a supporting role in Punjab politics, the BJP now wants to take centre stage ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

Emboldened by its win in West Bengal, the other defiant border state, the BJP believes it has a chance in Punjab despite the lingering scars of the 2020 farm law protests that left it isolated.