Senior BJP leader BL Santosh has said the party will contest all 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly elections, amid fresh speculation over a possible tie-up between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal. He also said the BJP would win the polls and form the government in the state.
Santosh made the remarks during his two-day organisational visit to Punjab, which comes at a time when the party’s state unit is facing dissent over a recent reshuffle. A section of leaders has accused the state leadership of sidelining the old cadre.
Addressing his first zonal meeting in Patiala on Monday, Santosh said, “Punjab is fully ready for change, and the BJP is fully prepared to make this change a reality.” He later chaired another organisational meeting in Bathinda.
His statement comes days after former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal fuelled speculation that the Akali Dal could join hands with the BJP again, while expressing a cryptic wish for “agreements” that carried progress to Punjab from Delhi. Senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia had also said on August 21 that people wanted the SAD and the BJP to come together for peace, development and progress in Punjab, though he added that any decision would be taken by the leadership of both parties.
Earlier this month, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office in Parliament House, triggering further speculation about the regional party joining hands with the BJP again. The SAD had ended its alliance with the National Democratic Alliance in September 2020 over the three farm laws, which were later repealed.
Santosh began his visit on Monday to review the party’s organisational work and improve coordination and preparedness at the grassroots level in the poll-bound state. Assembly elections are due in Punjab early next year. He was received at Chandigarh airport by Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon and state BJP co-in-charge Narinder Singh Raina.
According to a party statement, he is holding a series of zonal meetings with BJP leaders and organisational functionaries across the state. During the visit, the focus will be on strengthening the organisation up to the booth level and reaching out to people on the policies and achievements of the central government under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. On August 25, zonal meetings are scheduled in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, along with a separate meeting with the state general secretaries in Amritsar.
With Santosh asserting that the BJP will fight all 117 seats, his Punjab visit has brought the party’s election preparations into focus even as talk of a possible renewal of ties with the Akali Dal and internal unease within the state unit continues.
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Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Aug 24, 2026 23:48 IST
