Elections in five states are now over, and BJP has started work on ‘Mission Punjab’. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will now visit Punjab every month. He is about to launch a campaign against drugs in the state. Assembly elections in Punjab are scheduled to be held in February next year, along with elections in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur. While BJP is still in power in the remaining four states, it wants to strengthen its hold in Punjab also.
According to reports, Amit Shah’s ‘Mission Punjab’ is going to start in May. He will visit the state that month. During this tour, BJP will also launch a series of anti-drug awareness rallies across the state of Punjab. Senior BJP leaders—from both the state and central levels—are expected to attend these rallies at different times and locations. BJP leaders will also emphasize to the public that, with Punjab being a border state, the formation of the BJP government will enable a “double-engine government”, which will help in effectively curbing cross-border drug smuggling.
BJP aims to make drugs a big election issue in Punjab
In fact, BJP wants to make the drug issue a main topic before the elections; As a result, a public awareness campaign against drugs will be launched. BJP leaders claim that Amit Shah has already led the fight against drugs across the country, and in the same context, Punjab will also be made drug-free. The party believes that drug addiction has devastated millions of families in Punjab, and that addiction is breaking families apart, especially among the youth.
BJP is confident that this campaign will get public support and solidarity. Additionally, it aims to highlight to the public the alleged failure of the Punjab government to effectively curb the drug problem. Through this campaign, the party plans to put the state’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on the backfoot on this serious issue. Actually, Amit Shah has been working on plans to launch a campaign against drugs in Punjab for a long time.
BJP preparing to corner AAP on drug issue
In 2016—when the BJP-Akali Dal coalition was in power—party president Amit Shah had initially decided to run a similar campaign. However, given the internal affairs of the party at the time, that decision was ultimately postponed. In the year 2022, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also made the drug issue their main election issue in the assembly elections, and it was considered an important reason behind their victory. In Punjab, BJP has decided to contest the elections alone; The party will not form any alliance with its old ally, Shiromani Akali Dal.
Preparation to blossom ‘Kamal’ on the political field of Punjab
Amit Shah had formally launched the BJP’s election campaign in Punjab with a ‘Badlav Rally’ held in Moga last March. Now, through this anti-drug campaign march, the party hopes to reach every village in Punjab, as almost every area of the state is affected by the scourge. Furthermore, BJP assesses that the ground situation in Punjab has changed. On one hand, the Aam Aadmi Party government has failed to fulfill its election promises, while on the other hand, the Congress party is still struggling with internal factionalism. After the death of Sardar Prakash Singh Badal, Akali Dal is also trapped in internal strife. As a result, this time BJP is seeing Punjab as a politically fertile ground for itself.