BJP breaks rural barrier in Punjab with Tarn Taran candidate

BJP's entry into Punjab's rural heartlands challenges decades-old voter loyalties and narratives.

- TARUNI GANDHI

In a political shift that marks a departure from decades-old electoral patterns, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun to gain ground in rural Punjab, regions where it once had virtually no organisational presence and was even denied entry during heightened political tensions. On Thursday, the party announced Harjit Singh Sandhu as its candidate for the upcoming bypoll to the Tarn Taran Assembly seat, which fell vacant following the death of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal in June. The Election Commission has yet to declare the polling date, but the BJP's announcement is being seen as part of a broader rural strategy that has been unfolding quietly and persistently over the past two years.

From political exclusion to weekly presence Until recently, rural belts in districts such as Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran, and Faridkot were considered off-limits for the BJP. These areas have historically been influenced by strong radical narratives, where identity politics, agrarian concerns, and religious sentiment often eclipsed any centralised, development-driven political discourse. Even during the BJP's long alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the party's role in rural constituencies was negligible; it contested and held sway primarily in urban seats, leaving the village networks to its senior partner.

The BJP's rural invisibility was reinforced by its urban merchant-class voter base, its perception as a party of the Hindi-speaking belt, and its lack of strong Sikh farmer leadership. In many parts of rural Punjab, especially during politically charged moments, party workers found themselves unwelcome — a reality most visible during the farmers' protests against the now-repealed central farm laws.