Kewal Singh Dhillon First Jat Sikh BJP Punjab President

Kewal Singh Dhillon formally assumed charge as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Punjab unit on Wednesday, June 3, in a ceremony at the party's state headquarters in Chandigarh. The 76-year-old former Congress legislator, appointed to the role on May 28, becomes the BJP's first Jat Sikh president in Punjab as the party prepares to contest the 2027 state assembly elections independently.

Dhillon outlined a development-focused agenda centered on farmers' welfare, industrial revival, and combating drug abuse. In his inaugural address, he invoked the 19th-century rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh as an ideal model, installing a portrait of the ruler and pledging to build a prosperous and harmonious Punjab. He sharply criticized the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party government, asserting it had disappointed every section of society and that the BJP would provide the real change Punjabis seek. Dhillon expressed confidence that the BJP would form the next government in the state in 2027.

The event was attended by a range of senior leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh, Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu, and...