With months to go for Assembly elections in Punjab, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stepped up its political outreach in the border state, increasingly relying on Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to expand its independent political footprint and connect with the sizeable Other Backward Class (OBC) and rural electorate.
In the last seven months, Saini has been seen at nearly 70 events across Punjab in what is being viewed as a deliberate outreach strategy by the BJP to strengthen its position in a state where it currently holds just two seats in the 117-member Assembly. The party’s focus is also seen as an attempt to consolidate support among communities forming a significant share of Punjab’s nearly 31% OBC population, including groups such as Sainis and Ramgarhias, many of whom are Sikhs. Saini himself belongs to the OBC community and has emerged as one of the most visible BJP faces in Punjab since the party’s split from the Shiromani Akali Dal.
As part of this broader campaign, Saini, on Friday, attended the 24th Nirvana Day ceremony of Brahmanand Ji Maharaj Bhuriwale in Nawanshahr, where he paid rich tributes to the saint, describing him as a “walking embodiment of divine light”.
Following the spiritual event, Saini visited Mandi Gobindgarh, one of Punjab’s key industrial hubs, where he held a meeting with industrialists to discuss investment opportunities, industrial development, and ways to strengthen economic cooperation in the region. Reiterating the BJP’s political positioning, Saini said that if the party comes to power in Punjab, it would introduce “Haryana-style good governance,” ensuring that deprived sections receive benefits such as housing, education, scholarships, healthcare, and land-related support on the Haryana model.
“Punjab today needs a double-engine government that not only makes promises but also has the ability to fulfil them. There is a need for leadership that is not afraid to take decisions, that places public welfare above everything else and that works in the national interest,” Saini said.
Saini told the industrialists of Punjab that the state has a clear choice before it. “On one side is development, stability and decisive leadership while on the other side is instability, confusion and broken promises. Everyone must now decide which direction they want to move in,” he said.
Taking a dig at the AAP government in Punjab, Saini said that while Haryana is providing several facilities for industries in the state, some governments are still trapped in politics. “Instead of focusing on development, they indulge in politics of confrontation. Rather than promoting industries, they entangle them in a web of regulations. Such conditions are visible in Punjab every day, where industrialists, businessmen and even media institutions highlighting the issues of the industrial sector are being intimidated and threatened,” he alleged.
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He said that the manner in which the double-engine government has promoted industries in Haryana over the last eleven-and-a-half years is evident to all. “Policies were simplified, the single window system was implemented and rapid work was done on electricity, water and infrastructure. As a result, Haryana has become the first choice of investors. However, if we look at Punjab, the situation appears quite different. Industrialists here are facing several challenges, such as power crisis, law and order issues, and policy instability,” he said.
In earlier key engagements, Saini had met a delegation of the Dhanak community from Punjab at his official residence in Chandigarh on April 30. During the meeting, he accepted an invitation to attend a programme on June 30 being organised by the Deprived Scheduled Caste (DSC) community to mark the birth anniversary of Sant Kabir Das. The delegation, led by community president Satish Khundia, raised concerns over unemployment and political representation, stating that despite a significant population share in Punjab, the community’s participation in politics remains limited and educated youth are struggling to find jobs. Saini assured them that the welfare of deprived communities remains a priority and reiterated that Haryana’s governance model focuses on inclusive development and targeted delivery of benefits.
Earlier, on March 26, Saini had addressed a gathering at Gurdwara Sri Nanaksar Sahib in Ludhiana district, where he strongly criticised both the AAP government in Punjab and the Congress, attacking their governance and political record.
Across his engagements, Saini has consistently projected the BJP’s governance model as welfare-oriented and inclusive, while also urging citizens to stay away from addictions and focus on nation-building. The scale and frequency of his visits and meetings underscore the BJP’s intensified campaign in Punjab, with Saini emerging as a central figure in its effort to expand political influence in the state ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
