Punjab enters domain of politics of confrontation close to elections

 

Punjab enters domain of politics of confrontation close to elections

Jagtar Singh

Ground Zero

May 17: Developments in Punjab are moving at a rapid pace. The land of the Gurus is entering domain of confrontational politics.

It cannot be ruled out that both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs Punjab, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules at the Centre, stand to gain politically from the escalating confrontations that began last month with the defection of seven AAP Rajya Sabha members to the BJP.

At the same time, the Bhagwant Mann government has entered into direct confrontation with the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal institution of the Sikhs, over the sacrilege law enacted by the state government on April 13.

The narrative emerging from these confrontations is reshaping electoral equations at a time when the Assembly elections are only months away. At least one of these developments is unprecedented and did not receive the attention it deserved: the recent bomb blasts in the state.

More than the tremors caused by two low-intensity blasts that struck Punjab within three hours on the night of May 6, it was the political fallout the next morning that sent shockwaves through the state. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s response has placed him in direct confrontation with the BJP and the Union government.

Before the full implications of this emerging narrative could be grasped, other dramatic events unfolded, culminating in the arrest of influential minister Sanjeev Arora on May 10 from his official residence near the chief minister’s residence.

A day later, the confrontation between the Mann government and Akal Takht acting Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj escalated further. The Mann government was directed to amend the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026 within 15 days and defer its implementation until then. The directive was issued to Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, who had been summoned by the Jathedar on May 8. However, the Speaker neither has the authority to amend nor defer the law; only the government can do so.

The issue of the Jathedar directing the state government on legislative matters is multi-dimensional. Equally, the state government too must maintain a distance from the religious sphere. The immediate concern is the directive issued to the government, though the larger implications run deeper.

The directive specifies amendments sought in the Act, but does not oppose the legislation itself. In fact, it was the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) that had authorised the state government in 2007 to enact legislation concerning the Guru Granth Sahib, and the Mann government has merely amended the 2008 Act. At that time, the Shiromani Akali Dal, led by Parkash Singh Badal, was in power, and the SGPC itself remains dominated by the Akali Dal. For both the SGPC and the Akal Takht, ideological consistency — not political convenience — should remain the guiding principle.

Moreover, SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami had initially welcomed the legislation before later changing his stance. This shift raises serious questions, especially as the evolving narrative appears politically inconvenient for the Akali Dal.

With Mann making it clear that the Act will not be amended, the situation is steadily moving toward confrontation. Yet the legislation itself was enacted in response to sentiments expressed by sections of the Panth and the Sant Samaj. These sentiments had found expression in the Samana Tower Morcha, which began as an individual initiative but later drew support from a broad section of Sikhs demanding stringent punishment for sacrilege. Even Dhami and Gargaj had visited the Morcha.

This confrontation is likely to shape the political narrative because the legislation was enacted in response to demands from sections of the Sikh community itself.

At the same time, the confrontation between AAP and the BJP is intensifying by the day. Ironically, both parties may ultimately benefit, as the conflict has the potential to marginalise both the Akalis and the Congress within Punjab’s religio-political framework.

The BJP in Punjab has become more aggressive after consolidating political gains elsewhere and expanding its national footprint. The party appears convinced that Punjab is its next major frontier, despite currently ranking fourth in the state’s political hierarchy.

The sequence began with the blasts and the unprecedented political narrative that followed them. The first explosion occurred at the gate of the Border Security Force establishment in Jalandhar, while the second took place in the sensitive Khasa area between Amritsar and the Wagah border, outside an army installation. As in several previous incidents, there was no loss of life.

What followed politically, however, was extraordinary. Never before in Punjab’s history had a chief minister directly accused the party ruling at the Centre of engineering disturbances in the state to create communal divisions and capture political power. Punjab has experienced unrest since the 1980s, and bomb blasts are not unfamiliar to its people. Yet no chief minister had previously blamed the Centre so openly.

Mann alleged that the BJP was attempting to foment communal tension in Punjab ahead of the February 2027 Assembly elections. Coming from the chief minister of a sensitive border state, the statement was explosive. Yet it received surprisingly muted national attention.

Mann was quoted as saying: “This is BJP’s way of working. In every poll-bound state, they first incite riots, carry out small blasts and divide people on the basis of religion and caste. This is BJP’s election preparation for Punjab.”

Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu challenged Mann to substantiate the allegation, but reactions remained largely confined to Punjab BJP leaders.

Interestingly, the strongest rebuttal came not from Delhi, but from Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav, who suggested that the blasts were part of an ISI-backed attempt to create social tension ahead of the anniversary of Operation Sindoor. His remarks directly contradicted the chief minister’s narrative and underscored the complex relationship between Punjab’s police establishment and the Centre.

Blaming Pakistan’s ISI has long been the standard explanation offered by Punjab Police for such incidents. In that context, Mann’s accusation against the BJP was politically far more significant. Notably, he has continued to maintain this line of attack.

The confrontation between AAP and the BJP sharpened further on May 10, when AAP workers staged protests outside BJP offices across Punjab following the arrest of Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case.

The arrest came just days after seven AAP Rajya Sabha members defected to the BJP, six of them from Punjab.

The BJP, emboldened by recent electoral successes elsewhere, is increasingly positioning itself as the principal challenger to Mann in Punjab. This realignment has the potential to push both the Akalis and the Congress to the margins of the political spectrum. For the BJP, however, the stakes extend beyond merely forming a government. Sikh politics has deep implications for India’s geopolitical and national-security landscape.

Punjab’s evolving political situation must be understood in the context of a state where a national minority forms the majority population and possesses distinct political and religious aspirations. The Sikh religio-political matrix continues to shape electoral politics in Punjab. Even if the traditional party historically articulating Sikh aspirations has fragmented, the influence of the Sikh religious domain remains intact.

It is in this context that the ongoing churning over the sacrilege law must be understood. Sections of the Sikh community have long demanded stricter punishment for sacrilege, especially after the Bargari sacrilege incidents, which severely damaged the credibility of the Akal Takht, the SGPC and the Shiromani Akali Dal. Since October 2015, the functioning of both the Akal Takht and the SGPC has repeatedly come under scrutiny.

The continued influence of the Sikh religious sphere over electoral politics is evident from the unanimous passage of the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act by the Assembly on April 13. The government has already framed rules for its implementation.

Acting Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, who summoned Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on May 8, has now given the government 15 days to amend the Act, arguing that it could distance Sikhs from the Guru Granth Sahib. A section of Sikhs had opposed the enactment of such a law from the outset, though both the SGPC and Akal Takht had initially remained silent.

The chief minister, however, has made it clear that the Act reflects the demands of the Panth and will not be amended. Significantly, several Sikh religious leaders, including former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, watched the Assembly proceedings on April 13 from the Governor’s gallery. Importantly, no Sikh political party opposed the legislation at the time. It is the delayed opposition that is now raising questions.

Punjab thus finds itself facing confrontation on multiple fronts. The Akal Takht and the state government are moving toward a potentially direct collision, even as sections of the Sikh community continue to support the law. The Akal Takht leadership would do well to avoid a repeat of the controversy surrounding the Hukamnama that sought to exonerate Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim — a decision that faced massive backlash within the Panth and eventually had to be withdrawn. That Hukamnama itself had emerged after Jathedars were summoned to the residence of then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, an act widely seen as a violation of Sikh maryada.

At present, every major political, religious and institutional force appears active within Punjab’s increasingly volatile religio-political domain.

Punjab has unmistakably entered the era of confrontational politics.