Punjab BJP likely to announce candidates by first week of Dec

According to a state general secretary who attended the meeting, Santosh emphasised the need to declare candidates well in advance so that they have sufficient time to prepare their constituencies and campaign among voters

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to announce its candidates for the Punjab assembly elections, due early next year, by the first week of December, well ahead of the polls expected to be held in February next year, as the party steps up preparations to expand its electoral footprint in the state.

National general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh concluded his two-day visit to Punjab on Tuesday evening. (HT File)

National general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh, who concluded his two-day visit to Punjab on Tuesday evening, directed the party’s state general secretaries to begin identifying probable candidates for all 117 assembly constituencies.

Santosh gave the directions during a closed-door meeting with the state general secretaries in Amritsar. According to a state general secretary who attended the meeting, Santosh emphasised the need to declare candidates well in advance so that they have sufficient time to prepare their constituencies and campaign among voters.

The BJP is also conducting independent surveys through private agencies to assess the prospects of potential candidates. According to another state general secretary, Santosh indicated that the findings of these surveys would be an important factor in preparing panels of probable candidates for individual constituencies.

The move assumes significance as the BJP has been seeking to strengthen its organisational presence in Punjab, where it has traditionally had a limited electoral base.

When the BJP was in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), it generally contested 23 of Punjab’s 117 assembly seats. However, in the 2022 elections, after contesting separately from the SAD and entering into an alliance with the Punjab Lok Congress led by Captain Amarinder Singh and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt), the BJP contested 70 seats. It won two seats and secured around 6% of the votes.

Party leaders believe that announcing candidates early could give them additional time to establish contact with voters, strengthen their constituency-level organisation and mount a sustained campaign.

The decision is also understood to have been influenced by the BJP’s experience in West Bengal, where the party had announced candidates well ahead of the polls, allowing them more time for constituency-level preparations and campaigning.

Interestingly, there was no substantive discussion on the alliance question during Santosh’s meetings with the state leadership, despite speculation about a possible alliance ahead of the Punjab polls.

A senior party functionary said that during his two-day visit, Santosh referred only twice to the need for the state leadership to prepare for contesting all 117 seats.

“Throughout the two-day tour of the national general secretary (organisation), he said just twice that the state leadership should make preparations to contest polls on all 117 seats. There was no clarity on the alliance issue,” the general secretary said.

Party general secretary Anil Sarin said the BJP would contest all 117 seats and that the process of selecting candidates had to be initiated well in advance.

“The national organisational secretary has given certain targets to us relating to strengthening the party at the booth level. Party leaders will work on those aspects,” Sarin said.

The party’s immediate focus, therefore, appears to be on strengthening its organisational machinery, particularly at the booth level, while simultaneously building a pool of potential candidates across all constituencies.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Punjab BJP affairs in-charge Satish Poonia is expected to arrive in Chandigarh on August 30. His visit is likely to focus on strengthening the organisation and taking forward the party’s preparations for the assembly elections.

While the BJP’s preparations indicate that it wants to remain ready to contest all 117 seats, its final strategy on an alliance remains unclear.