In Jat Sikh pivot, BJP picks Kewal Singh Dhillon as its Punjab chief

CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday appointed former Congress MLA and industrialist Kewal Singh Dhillon as its Punjab president, marking a shift from the party's earlier practice of appointing a Hindu leader in the Sikh-majority state.
By picking Dhillon, a Jat Sikh, the BJP has made a significant political move less than a year ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. Outgoing state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar is a Hindu Jat.

Dhillon (76) has business interests in beverages, bottling and real estate.

He joined the BJP in June 2022 and was later appointed state vice-president. He is credited with helping bring PepsiCo to Punjab during the militancy years. Kewal Singh Dhillon is among Punjab’s wealthiest politicians and had declared assets worth more than Rs 200 crore in his affidavit for the 2024 Barnala assembly bypoll.

A two-time former Congress MLA and a prominent businessman, Dhillon won from Barnala in 2007 and 2012. However he lost the 2017 assembly polls from Barnala. He also lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to AAP's Bhagwant Mann from Sangrur on Congress ticket.

He was then denied ticket by Congress for the 2022 assembly polls. He was expelled by the Congress for "anti-party activities" and he then moved to BJP. He then lost both Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll in 2022 and Barnala assembly bypoll in 2024, both on BJP ticket.

In his first interaction with the media after his appointment, Dhillon expressed confidence that the BJP would emerge as a major force in Punjab in 2027.

He said his aim was to make Punjab akin to the “Sarkar-e-Khalsa” era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and asserted that the BJP alone could steer the state out of issues such as drugs, gangsterism and unemployment.

“Punjab was once at the top and BJP will make it number one again,” he said.

Jakhar’s three-year tenure as state BJP chief was due to end in early July. He had reportedly offered to resign after the BJP failed to win any seats in Punjab in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, but the party asked him to continue till a successor was chosen.

Last year, BJP had appointed senior leader Ashwani Sharma as working president as an interim arrangement. Party leaders said Sharma’s role ends with Dhillon’s appointment, while Jakhar is likely to be given a national-level responsibility.