The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, 28 May appointed Kewal Singh Dhillon, a 75-year-old Jat Sikh former legislator and close aide of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, as the new Punjab state unit president. The appointment, made by the BJP national president, replaces Sunil Jakhar, the party's prominent Hindu face in the state, in what political observers are reading as a calculated community outreach ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.

The Strategy Behind the Appointment

Political analysts say the BJP's decision to install Dhillon is part of a deliberate effort to project a Sikh face in a state where the community forms a dominant majority. With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) firmly in power in Punjab and the Congress regrouping, the BJP appears to be recalibrating its social coalition well in advance of the next assembly contest. This is not the first time the party has used a community-specific appointment to signal intent in a politically sensitive state.

Who Is Kewal Singh Dhillon

Dhillon served as a Congress legislator from the Barnala constituency from 2007 to 2017, when he was defeated by AAP's Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, who has since risen to become a Member of Parliament. He joined the BJP in June 2022 along with other Congress leaders following the party's rout in the state assembly elections earlier that year. Since switching allegiances, Dhillon has contested twice on a BJP ticket — the Sangrur Lok Sabha by-election in 2022 and the Barnala Assembly bypoll in 2024 — losing both times. His electoral record notwithstanding, the party has evidently valued his community standing and proximity to Amarinder Singh over ballot-box performance.

The Exit of Sunil Jakhar

The outgoing president, Sunil Jakhar, was appointed Punjab BJP chief in July 2023, roughly a year after he crossed over from the Congress in May 2022. A former Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur and a three-time MLA from the Abohar Assembly constituency, Jakhar had previously led the Congress in Punjab for four years before being replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu in 2021. Known for plain speaking and a direct style, Jakhar had been active on the ground — travelling across the state, raising local issues, and attending party functions — right up to his replacement. Reports of his dissatisfaction had surfaced as far back as September 2024, when rumours of his resignation circulated, though the BJP denied them at the time. Party sources had then indicated that Jakhar had expressed unwillingness to continue as state president to the top leadership.

What This Means for 2027

The leadership change signals that the BJP is entering its Punjab campaign cycle earlier than usual. By placing a Jat Sikh at the helm, the party is attempting to chip away at AAP's and Congress's hold over a community that has historically been wary of the BJP's national profile. Whether Dhillon — twice a losing candidate — can translate community credibility into organisational momentum will be the defining question as the party builds toward the next election cycle.