Killi Chahlan (Moga), March 15 -- Ending speculation over a patch-up with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections alone. Asserting that the BJP is done playing the "Chhota Bhai" (younger brother) in the state, Shah launched a high-decibel campaign from the politically vital Malwa belt, promising a double-engine government to rescue Punjab from drugs and debt. Addressing the "Badlav Rally" at Killi Chahlan in Moga, Shah made it clear that the era of the BJP playing second fiddle in Punjab is over. "Whenever we came before you in the past, we were the junior partner. But from today, the BJP begins its campaign to form its own government in Punjab," he said. Shah's announcement on the BJP's intent to go solo in the Punjab 2027 assembly polls is the clearest assertion yet by the saffron party's top leadership, debunking the confusion in its Punjab ranks on re-stitching an alliance with its one-time senior partner in state power politics. Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar and former chief minister Amarinder Singh had been rooting for the pact with Akalis. The BJP had been a junior partner of the SAD in Punjab since the two parties forged a pre-election alliance in 1996. Both contested five assembly polls and all Lok Sabha polls together until 2021 when their long-standing pact ruptured over the Akali Dal's opposition to the now-repealed three farm laws enacted by the BJP-led Union government in which Akalis were a coalition partner. The two parties contested the 2022 assembly polls separately and ended up with their all-time low tally - SAD won three seats while the BJP managed only two - in the 117-member House. Urging Punjab voters to give the party a chance to govern the state in the 2027 assembly elections, Shah said only the BJP can make Punjab drug-free. Shah said he had come to seek the blessings of the people of Punjab, asserting that a "double-engine government" led by the BJP at both the Centre and the state could effectively eliminate the drug menace. "We have proved our credentials by abrogating Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and by ending Naxalism. If you want to end drugs, only this double-engine government can do that," Shah said. He alleged that Punjab has been severely affected by drugs, debt, religious conversions, corruption and gangsterism. Shah blamed the Congress, SAD and the AAP for failing to tackle these issues. "Industrialists are leaving the state, farmers are helpless and the youth are facing unemployment. You tried the Congress, Akalis and AAP. Now, give the BJP a chance to bring change," he said. Citing figures related to drug trafficking, Shah claimed that nearly 45% of the heroin smuggling business in India is linked to Punjab. He also criticised the AAP government, saying it lacks the resolve to eliminate the drug trade. "I assure you that within two years of forming a BJP government in Punjab, we will wipe out this business entirely," he said. Shah also announced that if the BJP is voted to power in Punjab, the party will introduce an anti-conversion law within a month of forming the government. Referring to the sacrifices of Guru Tegh Bahadur, he alleged that forced religious conversions continue while opposition parties treat those involved as a vote bank. Highlighting the BJP's performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Shah said the party secured around 19% vote share in Punjab despite not winning any seats. He cited examples of states such as Assam, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Manipur where the BJP had previously converted similar vote shares into electoral victories. Launching a scathing attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government, the home minister accused the chief minister of neglecting the state to serve his party boss. "The chief minister is merely working as a pilot. His only job is to fly (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal across the country on Punjab's state-fundedaircraft," the home minister said. "This chief minister has not done anything more," Shahsaid, alleging that Punjab has become an "ATM" for the AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal."...