Punjab BJP to fight block committee, zila parishad polls on its own symbol

Published on: 18 Nov 2025 at 11:29 AM

Published by: Fact News

Fact News Service

Chandigarh, November 18: After the Tarn Taran bypoll setback, the BJP leadership in Punjab today announced that the party will contest the upcoming zila parishad and block samiti elections with full vigour and on its own election symbol. The decision was finalised at a high-level meeting chaired by Punjab BJP’s working state president Ashwani Sharma.

The meeting saw the participation of a wide spectrum of senior leaders and organisational representatives, including members of the State Core Committee, state office-bearers, district in-charges and co-in-charges, district presidents, sitting and former MLAs, MPs and former MPs, as well as the party’s 2024 Lok Sabha candidates. Their presence underscored the party’s attempt to rally its cadre and consolidate organisational strength ahead of the rural body polls.

The decision comes in the immediate aftermath of the Tarn Taran bypoll, where the BJP slipped to fifth place and even lost its security deposit. The seat was won by AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu by a margin of 12,091 votes. However, the BJP leadership has chosen to project confidence, stating that its improved vote share compared to 2022 — especially in what it describes as a closely contested, purely Panthic constituency — is still a positive indicator for the party’s future prospects in Punjab.

Prominent leaders such as BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, parliamentary board member Iqbal Singh Lalpura, organisation general secretary Manthri Srinivas Sullu, former state presidents Manoranjan Kalia, Vijay Sampla, and Avinash Rai Khanna, along with senior leaders Shwait Malik, Som Parkash, Manpreet Badal, Kewal Dhillon, SS Virk, Tikshan Sood, Avinash Chandra, and Jeevan Gupta, were among those who took part in the deliberations.

A significant portion of the meeting focused on the series of religious programmes being organised by the BJP to commemorate the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Leaders reviewed preparations for the grand kirtan darbar scheduled for November 19 at Sri Anandpur Sahib, where eminent Raagi Jathas will pay tribute to the Guru’s teachings and supreme sacrifice through Gurbani Kirtan. Party functionaries also discussed plans to hold district-level kirtan darbars in every district up to November 30.

In addition, the party has finalised a major devotional initiative for November 24, during which thousands of devotees and BJP workers across Punjab will jointly recite Sri Sukhmani Sahib at all 628 party mandals.

The meeting also assessed preparations for a series of upcoming national campaigns, including outreach programmes under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, events marking the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and celebrations commemorating 150 years of Vande Mataram. Leaders emphasised the need to execute these programmes with organisational discipline and wide public participation.

Overall, the BJP leadership sought to energise the cadre, turn the page on the Tarn Taran defeat, and signal that the party is gearing up for a more assertive presence in Punjab’s political landscape.