Even before Bengal is over, Punjab has begun for BJP

New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 24, 2026 18:59 IST

Amid celebrations in Bihar, PM Modi declared that the Ganga flows from Bihar to Bengal, indicating the next election battle. Now, even before Bengal is over, Punjab has begun. The BJP's election juggernaut remains always deployed. Punjab, a non-BJP state that goes to the polls in February 2027, is in focus.

The best way to keep a ball rolling is to never let it stop. That's making the most of momentum. For the BJP, that's physics applied. The last phase of the West Bengal Assembly election isn't over yet, but the battle for Punjab has been initiated. Raghav Chadha and five other MPs from Punjab joining the BJP indicates that.

"The river Ganga flows to Bengal via Bihar. And the victory in Bihar, like the river, has paved the way for our victory in Bengal," PM Narendra Modi said on November 14, 2025, as the NDA was celebrating its massive victory in the Bihar Assembly election.

Bengal isn't done yet, but the flow has been decided. East to west. To the Land of the Five Rivers. Punjab goes to the polls in February 2027, along with Uttar Pradesh. There still 10 more months to go, the Congress might be thinking. It's business casual.

The BJP, world's biggest party in a democracy, can't pause. Elections, a marker of popularity, are its oxygen. And resting the Juggernaut would be rusting it.

PM Modi has, however, rejected the claim that the BJP remains perennially in election mode.

"After winning the Bihar election, some people, including some Modi admirers in the media, have once again started saying that the BJP and Modi always remain in a 247 election mode. I believe that to win elections, being in election mode is not necessary; what is necessary is to remain in an emotional mode 247," Modi said on November 18.

That was four days after he made the Bihar-Bengal Ganga remark.

Modi has addressed 14 rallies for the West Bengal election, had Jhalmuri, and a ride on the Hoogly. Union Home Minister Amit Shah camped for 15 days in Bengal for rallies and to ensure a smooth and peaceful election.

There's no rest for the leaders too. Just after wrapping up the election in Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma attended rallies in Bengal. He even dared his Bengal counterpart and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee into a fish-eating contest, promising to eat a kilo more than her.

Yogi Adityanath and Rekha Gupta, two other BJP chief ministers, also added force to the party's campaign in a state that has never seen a BJP CM.

The top leaders are what people see on the ground. There are thousands of faceless party members who work at the grassroots. There is booth-level planning.

Uttar Pradesh is a crucial state, and the BJP has been in power there for two consecutive terms, thereby making a mark on voters. In Punjab, the BJP lacks local faces. One of the reasons behind that it played a junior partner to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for decades. The SAD was its oldest ally before parting ways in 2020 over the farm bills.

The BJP has never formed a government in Punjab on its own. And to do so, it needs leaders associated with the state.

The only prominent face that the BJP has now in Punjab is Ravneet Singh Bittu, who crossed over from the Congress. The BJP knows it needs more faces if it is to put up a good fight, and this is where Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, and the other MPs who joined the BJP from AAP matter.

While Narendra Modi and Amit Shah campaigned for the last phase of voting in the eastern state, the die was being cast for a battle in the west. For the BJP is always geared up for polls, and 10 months isn't too long a time.

- Ends

Tune In