Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini
NEW DELHI: BJP leader and Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday expressed confidence that the party would come to power in Punjab after the February 2027 assembly elections and ruled out entering into an alliance for the polls.Saini has been campaigning extensively in Punjab, Haryana’s neighbouring state.”The BJP will form the government in Punjab under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our alliance is with the people of Punjab, and they want the state to be strong and prosperous,” he told reporters in Jalandhar.The BJP’s long-time ally in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal, ended its alliance with the saffron party in 2020 in protest against the farm laws introduced by the BJP-led Centre.On the reported infighting in the Punjab Congress, Saini claimed internal discord was in the grand old party’s “DNA”.Targeting both the Congress and the AAP, he accused them of failing to fulfil their poll promises after coming to power.”Before elections, the Congress made tall promises to people, but it failed to deliver on them after coming to power. So, people ousted them.”Later, the AAP came to power, but they also failed to fulfil the tall promises they made. They made 56 promises. I want to tell Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal to issue a white paper on how many promises they fulfilled.”Saini alleged that the AAP had misled voters and claimed Punjab’s youth continued to grapple with drug abuse and unemployment. He also accused the government of failing to fulfil its promises to farmers and asserted that the people now wanted a “double-engine” government in the state.Earlier, addressing a gathering in Pathankot at a programme held on the eve of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s 125th birth anniversary, Saini renewed his attack on the AAP government.”Today, every section of society feels let down in Punjab. Promises of employment were made to the youth, but many young people are now trapped in drug addiction.”Punjab’s farmers were promised prosperity and better returns, yet they continue to struggle for fair prices for their produce. In contrast, Haryana has become the first state in the country where all 24 crops are being procured at the minimum support price (MSP).”He further claimed the AAP had failed to deliver on its promise of financial assistance for women, contrasting it with Haryana’s scheme under which women receive Rs 2,100 per month.Saini asserted that the BJP was seeking an opportunity to serve Punjab and expressed confidence that, with public support, the state would once again become “Rangla Punjab”, calling it a fitting tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee and a step towards a “Viksit Bharat”.(With PTI inputs)
