Eyeing OBC votes, Haryana CM increases visits to Punjab
After successfully mobilising Other Backward Classes (OBCs) behind the party in the Haryana Assembly poll, the BJP is seemingly employing state’s Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to gain the community’s support in Punjab.
An OBC leader himself, Saini has been attending events organised by leaders of the community in Dera Bassi, Ropar and other places for the past a few months, making the Congress take note of it.
The community has nearly 31 per cent vote share in Punjab, with sizeable presence in Dera Bassi, Ropar, Nawanshahr, Tanda, Dasuya and Mukerian.
Prominent OBC leaders in the Punjab Congress have been demanding proper representation in the party’s organisational structure and in allocation of tickets during elections for long.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Raja Warring said the BJP’s “divisive politics” won’t succeed in the state.
However, BJP’s OBC leader Anish Sidana said the Congress has “always been ignoring” community leaders.
“Giving due representation to the OBCs has been a priority for the BJP. The fact that the Haryana CM has risen through ranks would stand the party in good stead in Punjab,” said Sidana, adding that the BJP will give due representation to the community in the 2027 Assembly elections.
Countering the BJP’s move, a former Punjab Chief Minister and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi said the BJP tried this strategy in Haryana, where the party focused primarily on non-Jat voters.
He said the party will use its divisive strategy to “disturb the communal harmony” in Punjab. “The Congress has always talked about giving 50 per cent reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs in the party’s political structure,” he added.
Another Congress leader alleged that the BJP is also trying to divide the SC community. “The party is exploiting already-existing differences between the Balmikis and the Ravidassia communities. The Ravidassia/Ramdassia communities do not vote for the BJP,” said Sukhwinder Danny, a former MLA from Jandiala.
Punjab