Chandigarh, October 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar has written to the Governor of Punjab, urging him to recommend to the Election Commission of India (ECI) the early enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct in the state. Citing the deteriorating law-and-order situation, which he claimed the Bhagwant Mann government had itself acknowledged, Jakhar said the move was necessary to ensure peaceful and fair Assembly elections and enable people to exercise their right to vote without fear.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Jakhar said the BJP would also approach the Election Commission of India to demand the early implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. He alleged that allowing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to remain in power for longer would further worsen the situation, potentially making peaceful, impartial and fear-free elections impossible.
Jakhar said the BJP was also exploring legal options to seek the externment of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal from Punjab. Referring to what he described as inflammatory statements by Sisodia, he alleged that the remarks were disturbing the state’s atmosphere. He said the party wanted to prevent the two leaders from visiting Punjab and spreading further discord.
Alleging a deliberate conspiracy by the AAP government to push Punjab towards unrest, Jakhar cited the cancellation of an anti-drug marathon in Abohar as an example of the deteriorating law-and-order situation.
He said the marathon had been organised annually in Abohar for several years, with thousands of young people participating in the campaign against drugs. This year, however, the government had withdrawn permission for the event in writing, citing an unfavourable atmosphere and concerns over law and order.
Jakhar questioned how the state could conduct Assembly elections peacefully if, according to the government’s own assessment, even an anti-drug awareness marathon could not be held safely.
He said Punjab’s law-and-order situation had deteriorated to an alarming level, claiming that no one in the state was safe. While drugs continued to claim the lives of young people, he alleged that the drug mafia had become so powerful that those raising genuine concerns about the menace were being silenced with bullets.
Referring to incidents across the state, Jakhar said people were being killed in several places, including Sri Amritsar Sahib, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Gurdaspur, Sri Hargobindpur, Mansa, Abohar, Sangrur and Ludhiana. He accused the government of failing to address the situation and alleged that police were forcibly taking away the bodies of children who had died due to drugs.
He further claimed that people who protested against drugs or voiced their anguish before the government were either subjected to police repression or driven to suicide.
Jakhar attributed the situation to what he described as a deliberate political strategy of the AAP government. He referred to remarks allegedly made by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, saying Sisodia had indicated that the party would use every available means to win elections, including persuasion, inducements, punishment, division, confrontation, lies or truth.
Jakhar alleged that the government had appointed compliant officers as part of this approach, while criminals and gangsters were either being inducted into the party or receiving protection. He also accused the Chief Minister’s Office of becoming a centre of corruption and said Punjab was bearing the consequences of these policies.
The BJP leader claimed that public confidence in the system was declining because officers entrusted with maintaining law and order were allegedly acting as collection agents for the government. He also alleged that drug and arms networks were operating from prisons, while smugglers and murder accused were being released on parole and assisted in fleeing abroad.
Jakhar further alleged that transactions involving crores of rupees had surfaced in connection with attempts to suppress cases of sexual assault against women. He claimed that the Chief Minister’s own family had been named in one such matter and accused the government of failing to ensure an investigation despite directions from the High Court.
Jakhar warned that, under these circumstances, conducting free, fair and peaceful elections in a border state such as Punjab could become increasingly difficult. He alleged that the AAP government was allowing the situation to deteriorate so that an atmosphere of fear would prevail by the time elections were due, preventing citizens from voting freely.
He said giving the government more time would amount to allowing further violations of the fundamental and human rights of Punjab’s people. Jakhar alleged that the AAP government lacked the confidence to seek votes from the public and was deliberately worsening the law-and-order situation to create a pretext for postponing the elections.
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