The Election Commission has not sounded the bugle yet. The only difference is that this battle has not yet reached the voter’s doorstep. For the moment, it is being fought inside the political parties themselves.
But the battle for Punjab 2027 has already begun.
For the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), the message has been particularly clear. BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh spent two days travelling across Punjab, holding zonal meetings in Patiala, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. More importantly, the exercise has gone down to the booth level, with the BJP working on a much deeper organisational structure across Punjab.
The party says it is preparing to contest all 117 Assembly seats on its own.
Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel has toured districts and met party workers as part of an organisational mobilisation exercise. Now a larger political journey is being planned, with Rahul Gandhi expected to participate in a statewide bus yatra. The proposed yatra would put senior leaders, including Partap Singh Bajwa, Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, on the same platform at a time when factional differences have repeatedly made news. The stated purpose is to strengthen the organisation and take the Mann government’s schemes and achievements directly to households. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also remains highly visible. Government schemes may deliver benefits, but elections are also fought on perception.
Because it is the party in government, aam Adami Party’s (AAP) situation is different. AAP therefore has to convert governance into political communication. In 2022, it rode a powerful wave of change and won 92 of the 117 seats. In 2027, it will seek votes not as an outsider promising change, but as an incumbent defending its record. Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia has been holding district-level organisational meetings, while booth in-charge meetings are planned across all 117 constituencies. The state government is preparing a major state-level function for Rakhar Punnia at Raiya near Baba Bakala on August 28, an occasion that traditionally attracts enormous religious as well as political attention. Party workers will have to explain what has been delivered, answer dissatisfaction and reconnect with voters who may no longer carry the same excitement they had in 2022.
He would first pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib (the Golden Temple) in Amritsar before joining a journey whose initial stretch would move from Amritsar towards Hussainiwala, according to the tentative plan.
Indian National Congress has almost the opposite problem. It already has an organisation, senior leaders with substantial local bases and a sizeable traditional vote. Its challenge is whether those leaders can work together.
