Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan has sparked political speculation over whether the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has informally kicked off its Punjab election campaign, particularly with a focus on social engineering in the Doaba region.
Dera Sachkhand Ballan holds significant religious and political influence in the Doaba belt, which comprises 23 assembly seats and is widely regarded as a Dalit-majority region. The Dera’s influence on electoral politics in Doaba is considered substantial, making the Prime Minister’s presence there politically noteworthy.
Political observers believe that the visit could be a signal that the BJP is attempting to recalibrate its Punjab strategy by expanding its social base. The party is aware that the Jat Sikh community has traditionally not been strongly aligned with the BJP. As a result, the party may be trying to build a new electoral equation by consolidating Scheduled Castes (SCs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and upper-caste Hindu voters, an approach similar to its social engineering model in other states.
For example, in Haryana, BJP had placed less emphasis on the Jat vote bank while focusing more on OBC communities. Now, PM Modi's visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar indicate a similar approach is being tested in Punjab.
During his visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan, PM Modi’s gestures and outreach were widely seen as an effort to connect with the Dalit community.
The visit is also expected to provide a political boost to the BJP in Doaba, a region traditionally considered a Congress stronghold. In the last Assembly elections, Congress won a significant number of seats in Doaba. The BJP’s renewed focus on the region has raised questions about whether it is attempting to make inroads into Congress’s core electoral base.
The BJP also has a history of Dalit leadership in Doaba. Constituencies like Hoshiarpur, a reserved seat, have previously elected BJP representatives. Senior leaders such as Som Parkash and Vijay Sampla, both from Dalit backgrounds, have served as Union ministers.
Beyond Dera Sachkhand Ballan, the BJP has also maintained outreach to other influential religious centres in Punjab, including Dera Radha Soami Satsang Beas and Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan, where senior party leaders have made appearances in the past. Additionally, Dera Sacha Sauda, headquartered in Sirsa, continues to have an influence in the Malwa region of Punjab.