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Punjab civic polls set to test BJP’s expansion push ahead of 2027 polls
Polling for eight municipal corporations — Abohar, Barnala, Batala, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Moga, Pathankot and Mohali — will be held on May 26, while counting of votes will take place on May 29. Besides the corporations, elections will also be conducted for 102 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the state.
The local bodies elections in Punjab, scheduled for May 26, are a litmus test for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is attempting to expand its footprint in the state beyond its traditional urban strongholds ahead of the assembly elections due early next year.
Polling for eight municipal corporations — Abohar, Barnala, Batala, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Moga, Pathankot and Mohali — will be held on May 26, while counting of votes will take place on May 29. Besides the corporations, elections will also be conducted for 102 municipal councils and nagar panchayats across the state.
The civic elections assume significance for the BJP because the party is attempting to rebuild itself independently in Punjab after the collapse of its decades-old alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The SAD-BJP alliance broke in 2020 after the SAD exited the National Democratic Alliance in protest against the Centre’s now-repealed farm laws.
The impact of the alliance breakup was visible in the 2022 assembly elections, as the BJP managed to win only two seats — Pathankot and Mukerian — and secured around 6.6% vote share.
Political observers are closely watching the BJP’s performance in these civic polls, particularly after the party’s recent electoral gains in several states, which have boosted the morale of the Punjab unit. The elections are being viewed as an opportunity for the BJP to test its organisational strength and assess whether it has succeeded in making inroads into regions where it earlier had limited presence.
Traditionally, the BJP’s support base in Punjab has remained confined largely to urban pockets such as Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and some Hindu-dominated constituencies. However, the party is contesting aggressively this time across several cities and smaller towns with an aim to strengthen its grassroots network before the assembly elections.
Among the eight municipal corporations, Abohar and Pathankot are being seen as prestige battles for the BJP leadership. Abohar is considered the stronghold of Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, while Pathankot is regarded as the political bastion of BJP working president Ashwani Sharma.
In Abohar, expelled Congress MLA Sandeep Jakhar, nephew of Sunil Jakhar, has been actively campaigning in support of BJP-backed candidates. In Pathankot, Ashwani Sharma, a former MLA from the constituency, is personally spearheading the party’s campaign.
The BJP is also optimistic about improving its performance in Mohali, where party leaders claim it has gained traction after securing over 40,000 votes in the Mohali assembly segment during the 2024 lok sabha elections. Similarly, Bathinda is being viewed as a promising battleground for the party. BJP leaders point out that the party polled over 36,000 votes in the Bathinda assembly segment during the parliamentary elections — more than any other political party in the segment. Overall, the BJP had secured around 1.1 lakh votes in the Bathinda lok sabha constituency.
In Moga and several other urban centres, the BJP is hoping to consolidate support among Hindu traders and business communities, sections that have traditionally formed the core of the party’s support base in Punjab.
Despite the BJP’s growing confidence, political analysts note that ruling parties in Punjab have historically enjoyed an advantage in local body elections due to their influence over local administration and political machinery. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which swept the 2022 assembly elections, is expected to leverage its organisational and administrative machinery in the civic polls as well.
A senior BJP functionary said the party;s central leadership has directed the Punjab unit to aggressively expand its grassroots presence through the municipal elections and prepare the cadre for the 2027 assembly battle.
The state BJP working president alleged that the ruling AAP government had failed to provide a level playing field to opposition parties during the nomination process. “We have already achieved a lot by fielding candidates from towns where the party earlier did not even have candidates. Support for the BJP in these polls will increase multifold,” Sharma said.
