Comprising Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts, Doaba has 23 seats and highest concentration of SC voters in Punjab.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab on Friday may have officially centred on inaugurating development projects, but politically it marked the BJP’s clearest signal yet that it has begun preparing the ground for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, with the Doaba region emerging as the focal point of its strategy.
After inaugurating healthcare infrastructure projects at PGIMER in Chandigarh, Modi travelled to Jalandhar, where he inaugurated the redeveloped railway station under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, flagged off the Shri Sant Ravidas Express connecting Amritsar (Chheharta) with Varanasi, and addressed a public gathering.
The visit was Modi’s second to Punjab in less than six months. In February, he visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan, becoming the first Prime Minister to do so in the dera’s 75-year history. Political observers see the two visits together as part of a sustained outreach to Punjab’s influential Ravidassia community.
The messaging was not confined to development alone. Modi began his Jalandhar address by paying tributes to Sikh religious reformer and founding member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sardar Teja Singh Samundri, on his 100th martyrdom day, invoking his contribution to the Gurdwara Reform Movement. The symbolic tribute was widely viewed as an attempt to connect with Sikh sentiment while simultaneously reinforcing the BJP’s outreach among Punjab’s religious communities.
Political analyst Amarjit Singh said the Prime Minister’s itinerary and the choice of Jalandhar were not coincidental.
“The BJP is trying to build a political narrative around development while simultaneously expanding its social base in Punjab. The party has identified Doaba as the gateway because of its sizeable Scheduled Caste population and its political importance. The February visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan and the latest programmes in Jalandhar should be seen as part of the same strategy,” Amarjit Singh told The Sunday Guardian.
Why Doaba matters
The Doaba region, comprising Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts, accounts for 23 Assembly constituencies and has the highest concentration of Scheduled Caste voters in Punjab. The region has historically played a decisive role in the state’s electoral politics.
According to Amarjit Singh, the BJP is attempting to establish itself as a serious player in this belt by combining development projects with symbolic outreach.
“The launch of the Shri Sant Ravidas Express is not merely a railway project. Sant Ravidas occupies a special place among the Ravidassia community, while Varanasi is the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency. Such initiatives carry both developmental and political messaging,” he said.
Capitalising on political flux
Modi’s visit came at a time when Punjab’s political landscape remains fluid.
The Congress continues to grapple with internal factionalism, with differences between former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring yet to be resolved.
The Aam Aadmi Party government has also been facing sustained criticism over law and order, the drug menace, migration of industry and the state’s financial condition.
The Prime Minister used the occasion to sharpen the BJP’s political attack. Accusing the AAP government of hiding its failures behind advertisements, Modi alleged that law and order had collapsed in Punjab, saying even police stations were under attack and businesses were finding it difficult to function. He accused the government of surviving on borrowed money, allowing corruption and extortion to become routine, and referred to the recent conviction of former AAP leader Tahir Hussain in the 2020 Delhi riots case while attacking what he described as the party’s politics.
Modi also took brief swipes at the Congress, saying it remained consumed by internal leadership battles, and at the Shiromani Akali Dal, remarking that the party was preoccupied with its own interests and internal problems instead of Punjab’s issues.
Amarjit Singh said the BJP appears to be trying to position itself as the principal beneficiary of the evolving political situation.
“The party believes there is political space to expand in Punjab. It is no longer projecting itself merely as a junior alliance partner but as a party that wants to emerge as an independent claimant to power in 2027,” he said.
Another objective of the visit, analysts say, was to strengthen the BJP’s “double-engine government” narrative by showcasing Central investment in Punjab despite the party not being in power in the state.
Besides inaugurating healthcare projects worth nearly Rs 1,200 crore at PGIMER, the Prime Minister launched railway and infrastructure projects in Jalandhar worth Rs 5,470 crore, allowing the BJP to underline the Centre’s continued investment in Punjab.
“The BJP wants to communicate that while governments in Punjab have changed, the Centre has continued to invest in infrastructure and public services. That message is likely to feature prominently in the party’s campaign over the next year,” Amarjit Singh said.
Having won only two seats in the 2022 Assembly election, the BJP has been working to strengthen its independent organisation in Punjab.
According to Amarjit Singh, the party’s emerging strategy rests on three pillars: highlighting Central development projects, deepening its outreach among Dalit and Ravidassia voters in Doaba, and attempting to benefit from the Congress’ internal discord and growing criticism of the AAP government.
“The Prime Minister’s visit by itself will not decide the election,” he said. “But it certainly marks the beginning of a long political campaign.
Whether the BJP succeeds will depend on its ability to convert these high-profile visits into sustained grassroots support over the next several months.”
For now, the political message from Friday’s visit appeared unmistakable: with the 2027 Assembly election approaching, the BJP has formally begun its campaign in Punjab, and it has chosen Doaba as the starting point.
