Nitin Nabin to Flag off, Amit Shah to Conclude
BJP to take 4 ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ to all 117 Assembly seats from September 18; Amit Shah to address concluding rally in Jalandhar on September 30
11 September, 2026 – Chandigarh : The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today announced four statewide “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras”, beginning September 18, which will cover all 117 Assembly constituencies under the slogan “Bhajpa da naara, nasha mukauna saara”.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin will flag off the first yatra from Ekta Sthal in Madhopur, Sujanpur, in Pathankot district, on September 18.
The venue is near the memorial of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address a rally in Jalandhar on September 30 to mark the conclusion of the yatras.
State BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon made the announcement in the presence of national vice-president Manpreet Badal, former state presidents Sunil Jakhar and Ashwani Sharma, state general secretary and yatra in-charge Rajesh Bagha, and state media head Vineet Joshi.
Dhillon launched a sharp attack on the AAP government, accusing it of harassing those who questioned its alleged failure to curb drugs. Asking questions was fundamental to democracy, he said, alleging that the AAP government was behaving like a “dictatorship” by targeting critics instead of answering them.
Dhillon said the yatras would go beyond drug awareness and highlight what he termed Punjab’s three biggest challenges — the spread of drugs, deteriorating law and order, and corruption, which he alleged extended from the tehsil and police station level to the Chief Minister’s Office.
He said the drug crisis threatened Punjabiyat, the state’s culture and values, and the legacy of the land of the Gurus. Families, particularly mothers and sisters, were bearing the brunt of the crisis, he said, alleging that youth traditionally known for their contribution to the armed forces and sports were being pushed towards addiction.
This, he said, was fuelling crime and gang violence and forcing families into debt or the sale of land to meet treatment expenses.
National vice-president Manpreet Badal said the war against drugs could not be won merely by registering FIRs against addicts and peddlers, and that the focus had to shift to rehabilitation. He said the real fight lay in breaking the drug network by following the money trail rather than chasing the drug packet.
Badal said the BJP promised to set up an anti-drug intelligence grid that would bring the police, intelligence agencies, rehabilitation experts, and social and religious workers together for what he described as a holistic approach to tackling the problem.
Former state president Sunil Jakhar said the practice of administering substitute drugs to wean addicts off their addiction had not proved fruitful. He said the youth needed to be gainfully employed to keep them away from drugs.
Four routes
The first yatra, beginning September 18, will pass through Sujanpur, Pathankot, Bhoa, Dina Nagar, Gurdaspur, Qadian, Sri Hargobindpur, Batala, Fatehgarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak, Ajnala, Raja Sansi, Attari, the five Amritsar constituencies, Majitha, Jandiala, Baba Bakala, Tarn Taran, Khadoor Sahib, Khem Karan, Patti, Ferozepur City, Guru Har Sahai, Ferozepur Rural, Zira, Sultanpur Lodhi, Bholath, Kapurthala, Nakodar and Shahkot before ending at Jalandhar Cantt.
The second yatra, beginning September 19 at Gurdwara Sri Fatehgarh Sahib, will cover Samrala, Payal, Khanna, Amloh, Fatehgarh Sahib, Bassi Pathana, Dera Bassi, SAS Nagar, Kharar, Chamkaur Sahib, Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Garhshankar, Chabbewal, Hoshiarpur, Sham Chaurasi, Dasuya, Mukerian, Urmar, Adampur, Balachaur, Nawanshahr, Banga and Phagwara before concluding in Jalandhar.
The third yatra, starting September 20 from the Asafwala 1971 War Memorial at the Sadiqi border in Fazilka, will cover Fazilka, Balluana, Abohar, Jalalabad, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Malout, Gidderbaha, Jaito, Kotkapura, Faridkot, Bagha Purana, Nihal Singh Wala, Dharamkot, Moga, Jagraon, Raikot, Dakha, Malerkotla, Amargadh, Gill and Sahnewal before ending at Ludhiana Urban.
The fourth yatra, beginning September 21 at Gurdwara Sri Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo, will pass through Maur, Rampura Phul, Bhucho Mandi, Bathinda Rural, Bathinda Urban, Mansa, Sardulgarh, Budhlada, Bhadaur, Barnala, Mehal Kalan, Dhuri, Sangrur, Sunam, Dirba, Lehra, Shutrana, Nabha, Patiala Rural, Patiala Urban, Sanaur and Rajpura before concluding in Jalandhar.
The Tribune