Chandigarh
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharpened its Punjab strategy ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, elevating former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal as national vice-president and appointing former AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak as national secretary. The reshuffle puts two politically significant Punjab-linked leaders in the BJP’s central organisation, while Amritsar-born Tarun Chugh and Chandigarh-based Saudan Singh have also been assigned key responsibilities.
Announced by BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Monday, the appointments carry particular political significance for Punjab, where the BJP is seeking to expand its footprint and strengthen its connect with the Sikh electorate. Manpreet’s elevation gives the party another prominent Sikh face at the national level after Kewal Singh Dhillon was appointed Punjab BJP president. Pathak’s induction brings into the BJP a leader credited with building AAP’s organisational and electoral machinery in Punjab, eventually leading to forming the government.
Manpreet, a nephew of Punjab’s five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and cousin of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, brings nearly three decades of political experience. He began his career with the Shiromani Akali Dal in 1995 and was elected from Gidderbaha four consecutive times — in 1995, 1997, 2002 and 2007.
He served as Finance Minister in the SAD-BJP government from 2007 to 2010 before parting ways with the Akali Dal and floating the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP). The PPP contested the 2012 Assembly elections in alliance with Left parties but failed to win a seat. During this phase, Manpreet had brought Bhagwant Mann into the party and fielded him from Lehragaga, though Mann lost the election.
Manpreet merged the PPP with the Congress in January 2016 and returned to the State Government after winning Bathinda Urban in 2017. He was again made Finance Minister in the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress Government.
After losing Bathinda Urban in 2022, Manpreet resigned from Congress in January 2023 and joined the BJP on January 18 that year. His elevation marks a significant turnaround and gives the BJP a leader combining political lineage, administrative experience, and a long association with Punjab politics.
Pathak: From AAP’s Punjab Strategist to BJP’s National Team
Pathak’s appointment is equally significant. Originally from Mungeli district of Chhattisgarh, Pathak holds a PhD from Cambridge University and has undertaken research at Oxford University and MIT. He later served as an assistant professor at IIT Delhi.
He joined AAP in 2016 and worked for nearly three years before the 2022 Punjab elections on the party’s organisation and electoral strategy. He was credited with strengthening AAP’s booth-level network and playing a key role in candidate selection and campaign planning. AAP went on to win 92 of Punjab’s 117 Assembly seats in 2022.
Following the victory, Pathak was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in April 2022 and later became AAP’s national organisation general secretary. He quit AAP in April 2026 and joined the BJP. His elevation gives the BJP a leader with direct experience of building and managing a grassroots political organisation in Punjab.
Chugh, Saudan Also Get Key Roles
Amritsar-born Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh has been given the additional charge of national office in-charge. Elected unopposed from Madhya Pradesh in June 2026, he took oath on June 29. A former RSS and ABVP worker, Chugh rose through the BJP’s organisational structure, becoming national secretary in 2017 and national general secretary in 2020. He has also handled responsibilities across several states and Union Territories.
Chandigarh-based senior leader Saudan Singh, a former RSS full-time pracharak, has been appointed national co-general secretary (organisation). He has extensive organisational experience across states and was made BJP national vice-president in December 2020, with his base shifted to Chandigarh and responsibility for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. He also served as Himachal Pradesh Assembly election in-charge in 2022.
With four Punjab-Chandigarh-linked leaders now holding important positions in the BJP’s national organisation, the reshuffle underlines the strategic importance the party attaches to Punjab. Ahead of 2027, the appointments combine Sikh representation, political lineage, grassroots electoral experience and organisational depth—signalling a more focused BJP bid to reshape the state’s political contest.
