Pundits believe the BJP’s ‘evolving’ approach is driven by electoral compulsions. According to political analyst Prof. Kuldip Singh, the party is attempting to overcome its limited appeal among Punjab’s Sikh peasantry and rural voters. The scars left by the now-repealed farm laws continue to haunt the BJP in large parts of rural Punjab, and the party is looking for ways to soften resistance and expand its social base.
Dangerous opportunism, says Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. “Punjab has long rejected divisive and sectarian politics. Don’t try to revive it for petty electoral gains. Don’t play with fire. Punjabis will never accept such a divisive agenda,” Warring warned.
He further argued that the BJP routinely brands its opponents ‘anti-national’ while taking political positions that suit its electoral calculations. For this, and more, “the BJP owes the people of Punjab an answer”.
The ideological gymnastics did not end at Mehta Chowk.
Last week, newly appointed Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon declared that if voted to power, the party would usher in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s ‘Sarkar-e-Khalsa’, that model of equal treatment for all, irrespective of caste, class or creed. For a party whose ideological parent organisation has long championed a Hindu rashtra as its ultimate political vision, that’s (more than) a bit rich.
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