Mission Punjab: Nitin Nabin’s Three-Day Tour Signals BJP’s Serious Tilt at 2027

By MANISH ANAND

BJP’s Nitin Nabin Begins 3-Day Punjab Tour: Inside the Party’s 2027 Assembly Election Strategy

New Delhi, June 20, 2026 — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin on Saturday began his three-day-long tour of Punjab. The visit is seen as a stock taking exercise in the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections next year. Nabin will hold brainstorming sessions with party strategists to dig out a poll plot for the party in Punjab.

Nabin accompanied by BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu left for Amritsar on Saturday morning. Nabin will do temples’ hopping as part of his first Punjab familarisation trip.

Nabin will visit Amritsar’s famous temples — Harminder Sahab, Durgiyana Temple, and Valmiki Temple. His itinerary for temples may give out the BJP’s eagerness for wresting the Punjab poll plot around Sikh, Urban Hindu, and Dalit votes.

In the local body elections, the BJP sought to assert the party presence in the state by winning over 300 wards. Yet, the saffron outfit’s appeal largely remains confined to the urban Hindu voters.

The Punjab poll pot is fast stirring as a dramatic turn in the state took place when Sikh religious leaders castigated Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. The Congress by delivering a better performance in the local body elections has already announced the intent to take on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

Nabin, who is already new in his job as the BJP president, is visiting Punjab for the first time after coming into the national prominence. With Chugh alongside, Nabin is likely to focus on the Amit Shah strategy in Punjab — trigger defections from opponent camps to enlist Jatt Sikh leaders in the BJP.

Incidentally, Ravneet Singh Bittu has emerged as a key face of the BJP in Punjab. He’s likely to be brought in the organisation as his term in the Rajya Sabha ends tomorrow, June 21. As he’s a Jatt Singh and grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, the BJP is likely to push him into prominence in the state ahead of the Assembly elections.

Punjab has a total of 117 Assembly seats, and the BJP has records of being an insignificant player in the state Assembly. With a few pockets of strength in the state, the BJP is turning ambitious in Punjab by roping in disgruntled leaders of the Congress.

Political observers in Punjab claim that the BJP will need to realign with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) if the party wants to take the state elections seriously. The emergence of the AAP in the Punjab politics has also sent the SAD to the political margins in the state. A section of the BJP leaders believe that the party should stay away from the SAD as the outfit has loads of negative legacy baggage.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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