Union Home Minister Amit Shah formally launched the BJP's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections on Saturday, addressing a massive Badlav — or Change — Rally at Killi Chahlan near Moga. Wearing a saffron turban, Shah made two sweeping promises: that a BJP government in Punjab will introduce an anti-conversion bill as its very first piece of legislation, and that it will make Punjab drug-free within two years. He also declared that the BJP will contest the 2027 polls entirely on its own — ending its decades-long role as junior partner to the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Anti-Conversion Bill Will Be BJP's First Move in Punjab
Shah singled out religious conversions as one of the most pressing issues facing Punjab today, accusing both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress of actively enabling conversions through vote bank politics rather than addressing the problem.
"The entire state of Punjab is grappling with the issue of religious conversions. The very first bill we will introduce in Punjab will ban religious conversions," Shah declared to a large gathering that included voters from the politically significant Malwa belt — a region that accounts for 69 of the state's 117 Assembly seats.
He went further, promising that the anti-conversion legislation would be enacted within one month of the BJP forming its government. Shah invoked the legacy of the Sikh Gurus, saying their supreme sacrifices were made precisely against forced conversions — and that it was a betrayal of that legacy for political parties to treat conversions as a vote bank tool.
BJP Goes Solo After 24 Years as Junior Partner
One of the most significant announcements of the rally was Shah's declaration that the BJP will no longer contest Punjab elections as a junior coalition partner. The party had been allied with the Shiromani Akali Dal for over two decades, forming the state government three times between 1997 and 2017 as the smaller partner. The SAD-BJP alliance broke down in September 2020 over the now-scrapped farm laws.
"Whenever we came before you in the past, we came as the younger brother. But from today, the BJP begins its campaign to form its own government in Punjab," Shah told the gathering. He pointed to the party's approximately 19 percent vote share in the 2024 general elections as the foundation upon which a full majority government could be built in 2027.
Drug-Free Punjab Within Two Years
Shah launched a sustained attack on the AAP government over the drug crisis gripping the state. He stated that 45 percent of India's entire heroin smuggling trade is linked to Punjab — and squarely blamed the current government for allowing the situation to deteriorate.
"Only the BJP government can make Punjab free from drugs. Punjab has collapsed due to the terror of gangsters, debt, religious conversions, and corruption," he said, promising that a BJP government would eliminate the drug trade from the state within two years of taking office.
He also raised the deteriorating law and order situation, pointing out that three village sarpanches had already been killed in 2026, gangsters were openly extorting money from ordinary residents, and an Assistant Sub-Inspector had been killed inside a police station — all under the current government's watch.
Sharp Attack on AAP and Congress
Shah reserved pointed criticism for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of functioning entirely under the remote control of Delhi-based AAP leadership. "Across the entire country, wherever Kejriwal needs to travel, this Chief Minister has done nothing other than charter aircraft at Punjab government's expense and fly him there as his personal pilot," Shah said.
He accused four Delhi-based AAP representatives of running Punjab's administration and siphoning state resources back to Delhi. He also listed a series of alleged scams under the AAP government — including the Moga outdoor advertisement scam, Amritsar and Jalandhar Smart City scams, Barnala truck union land scam, and an Anganwadi Panjiri scam — demanding accountability on each.
On the Congress, Shah blamed the party for the rise of terrorism in Punjab during its rule, for the army action at Akal Takht, and for the Hindu-Sikh tensions that followed. He contrasted this with the Modi government's construction of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, stating that Punjab's development and peace are only possible through Hindu-Sikh unity under BJP leadership.
AAP Hits Back
Punjab Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh responded to Shah's remarks on conversions, telling the Home Minister to focus on the BJP-ruled states before pointing fingers at Punjab. "The Punjab government will handle its own affairs. Shah should worry about what is happening in states where his own party is in power," the minister said.
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