While the PM generally visits Seer Govardhan, the birth place of Guru Ravidass in Varanasi that falls in his own constituency on the day, the visit to Dera Ballan is said to have been planned to expand his party’s sway among the Dalit community, which accounts for 34 per cent of the population in Punjab
27 January, 2026 – Jalandhar : In a move that can have major political significance in the Punjab Assembly elections next year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar this Sunday, on the occasion of Guru Ravidass’ 649th anniversary. Union MoS Ravneet Bittu confirmed about the PM’s visit to the media today.
While the PM generally visits Seer Govardhan, the birth place of Guru Ravidass in Varanasi that falls in his own constituency on the day, the visit to Dera Ballan is said to have been planned to expand his party’s sway among the Dalit community, which accounts for 34 per cent of the population in Punjab.
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Dera Ballan is one of the most revered places for the Ravidassia community and is headed by Sant Niranjan Dass, whose name figured in the list of the Padma Shri awardees for the year two days ago.
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Almost two months ago, there had been a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dera Sachkhand Ballan chief Niranjan Dass at the former’s residence in New Delhi. Former CPS and BJP leader Avinash Chander, BJP state general secretary Tarun Chugh and former Union MoS Vijay Sampla had accompanied Dass to the PM’s place.
Sant Niranjan Dass heads both religious places in Varanasi and the Ballan area. He usually takes a special train of nearly 2,000 devotees to Varanasi, which is likely to be flagged off on January 29. This time, however, he may board the train and return by air to Ballan to be present locally during the PM’s visit here.
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The scheduled visit of the PM has given the Punjab BJP a new fillip. All party leaders are expecting a big announcement to be made by the PM on the day. “The PM may also name the airport in Adampur after Guru Ravidass,” said a former MP of the party.
Followers of Guru Ravidass have been demanding elaborate arrangements for the 650th Guru Ravidass Jayanti that falls next year. “With his visit, the PM will kick-start the year-long celebrations in the honour of the Guru,” said Avinash Chander.
The Aam Aadmi Party, too, has been making plans in this regard, but the BJP has clearly taken a lead with the move. The party had been planning to hold a state-level function on the day. It has plans to acquire a 12-acre land to set up Guru Ravidass Research Centre near the dera. The announcement for the research centre had been first made by ex-Congress Chief Minister Charanjit Channi.
Both the Congress and the AAP CMs have done photoshoots with the dera chief, offering a cheque for Rs 25 crore each but nothing has happened on the ground in four years, say dera functionaries.
Punjab CM Mann is also expected to visit the ‘tapo-asthan’ of Guru Ravidas at Khuralgarh in Hoshiarpur on February 6 where a 151-feet-tall Minar-e-Begampura is set to be unveiled. The locals have also been demanding the recarpeting and four-laning of this road ahead of the 650th Parkash Purb celebrations next year.
The Tribune