The Tribune interview: Punjab had made up its mind for “swaraj” (self-rule) in 2027 and would no longer be ruled by Arvind Kejriwal and his people, says state BJP chief
04 April, 2026 – New Delhi : Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Friday said the Raghav Chadha episode signalled the beginning of the end for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the state and the countdown for AAP’s extinction as a recognised party had begun.
In an exclusive interview with The Tribune today, Jakhar said Punjab had made up its mind for “swaraj” (self-rule) in 2027 and would no longer be ruled by Arvind Kejriwal and his people.
“In 2027, Punjab will choose a leader who is its own,” Jakhar said, framing AAP as a party led by outsiders.
Asked to comment on conjectures that Raghav, whom AAP has replaced as the Rajya Sabha deputy leader, was headed for the BJP, Jakhar quipped, “This is a case of jaane naa jaane gul hi na jaane baag toh saara jaane hai…this was quite clear from the time Raghav flew off to London for a so-called eye surgery and took a while to return.”
The Punjab BJP chief added that the Raghav episode merely signalled the beginning of the end of AAP. “The exodus from AAP in Punjab has begun. This (Raghav issue) is just the beginning. AAP is falling apart and will soon be an extinct variety in the political scenario in India. AAP as a recognised party will be over,” Jakhar said.
The Punjab BJP president reaffirmed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks in Moga that the BJP would no longer play the role of a “chhota bhai” (younger brother) to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). “This is what I had said while assuming the Punjab charge in 2023. The BJP is here to stay. The Shah rally proved that the BJP in Punjab was not an also-ran. It will soon be in pole position,” said Jakhar.
To a question on whether the doors for an alliance with the SAD were closed, Jakhar said the matter was beyond his “pay grade”.
He, however, added, “Unlike AAP which treats Punjab as an ATM and the Congress where everyone wants to be the CM, the BJP in Punjab is not for the sake of power. We are here to save Punjab and restore its glory. Any decision (on an alliance) taken will finally factor the best interests of Punjab,” Jakhar noted.
He played down the BJP’s lack of local leadership, especially Sikh leadership, in Punjab and said leaders would develop once the party started contesting all 117 Assembly seats on its own as against 23 it had historically contested until 2022, the first election fought without the SAD as an ally.
Asked who the party’s face in Punjab was, Jakhar said, “Our face in Punjab and India is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our ideology.” He described AAP as the BJP’s principal rival in Punjab and termed the Congress a “party publicly ridiculed by its own leader Rahul Gandhi recently in Barnala”.
“The Congress has lost all its credibility in Punjab. We will be taking on AAP, which is already disintegrating. It is not just about Raghav distancing from AAP or Laljit Singh Bhullar, who “forced” a district manager, Gagandeep Randhawa, to die by suicide or Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, arrested on rape charges. AAP is nearing its end,” Jakhar said on the eve of a protest the BJP has planned in Amritsar on Saturday in solidarity with the family of the late Gagandeep Randhawa.
Asked what issues would dominate the Punjab elections, the state BJP chief pointed to the lack of law and order and drug addiction as top concerns and said the blast outside the BJP office in Chandigarh was a spin-off of Punjab’s “lawlessness and gangsterism”.
Reflecting on the party’s 2027 Punjab election strategy, Jakhar said the fight this time would be for “swaraj” (self-rule).
“Punjab, which fought for independence, has made up its mind not to be ruled by Arvind Kejriwal and others but to be ruled by a Punjabi who is their own,” said the state BJP president while describing Bhagwant Singh Mann as a “non-existent leader who has outsourced the Punjab CM-ship to Kejriwal”.
The Tribune