The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  announced the seat-sharing formula with its alliance partners for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. The saffron party will contest the polls with Captain Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).

During a press briefing, BJP national president JP Nadda announced that the BJP will contest the election on 65 seats, PLC on 37 and SAD (S) on 15 seats.

Talking about nationalism and national security, Nadda said Punjab shares 600 km of border with Pakistan and has long been a victim of its nefarious activities like smuggling of drugs, arms and ammunition.

“Punjab is a border state and it is connected to country’s security, which is a very important issue as far as Punjab elections are concerned,” he added.

The BJP chief went on to say that this NDA alliance doesn’t just want a change of regime but it wants the stability of Punjab. “If Punjab is stable and secure then the country is safe,” he said.

Shifting focus to the financial condition of Punjab, he said that as far as Punjab is considered today, it needs special attention because despite being a progressive state, it stands on debt of Rs 3 lakh crore.

“Hence, we need to make Punjab financially strong,” he said.

JP Nadda then told media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has special love and bonding with Punjab.

It has been announced December 26 will be celebrated as Veer Bal Diwas. PM Modi has worked for Sikhs. The FCRA restriction on Harminder Sahib has been removed along with the removal of GST on langar. Kartarpur corridor has been made with an investment of Rs 120 crore, said Nadda.

The Assembly elections in Punjab were initially scheduled to be held on February 14, however, after a request by political parties, the schedule was postponed to February 20 due to the Covid-19 threat. The results will be announced on March 10.