Despite ‘going solo’ statements, BJP and Akalis continue alliance talks

BJP's National general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh (right) and state president Kewal Dhillon after a meeting in Ludhiana on Tuesday. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh) 7 min readLudhiana, New DelhiAug 26, 2026 09:41 AM IST First published on: Aug 26, 2026 at 07:05 AM IST A day after asserting that the BJP would contest all 117 seats in Punjab on its own in the Assembly elections slated for early 2027, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh on Tuesday set out an action plan for the state party unit to strengthen the organisation at the booth level. On the second day of his Punjab tour, Santhosh, while taking aim at the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership, said: “The leaders who lost in Delhi are now running Punjab due to which the development of the state has come to a standstill. Punjab’s industrial sector is witnessing large-scale migration. In contrast, development and progress are taking place in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.”