Chandigarh, June 4 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday installed Kewal Singh Dhillon as its first-ever Jat Sikh state president. The 76-year-old industrialist-turned-politician formally took charge in Chandigarh amid a symbolic blend of traditional Sikh 'ardaas' and Sanatan Dharma 'puja' rituals, underscored by the historic installation of a portrait of the 19th-century Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh inside the state chief's office. "Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Punjab," Dhillon said after taking charge. "We are drawing inspiration from the golden, inclusive governance of Khalsa Raj of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, where every community thrived equally." The entire BJP top leadership from the region, including Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, outgoing party's state chief Sunil Jakhar, former working president Ashwani Sharma, Union minister Ravneet Bittu, Rajya Sabha members Satnam Sandhu, Ashok Mittal and Vikramjeet Singh Sahney, party's national general secretary Tarun Chugh, former ministers Manoranjan Kalia, Manpreet Badal, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi attended the event. Former MP Preneet Kaur and her daughter Jai Inder Kaur's attendance was seen as a deliberate move to maintain a family presence, particularly after her husband, former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, publicly distanced himself from the appointment by stating that Dhillon was not his confidant. Addressing the gathering, Dhillon said the BJP is no longer a marginal player or confined to specific pockets in Punjab. "We are heading straight into the villages, to the farmers, and to the grassroots to restore the state's lost glory and bring back prosperity. The party's aim now is to form the next government in Punjab." Chugh termed Dhillon's installation as state unit chief "a historic milestone for the party in Punjab." Jakhar said the organisational transitions are a sign of a healthy, evolving party. Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini joined the preliminary religious rituals but chose not to share the political stage during the main leadership addresses. Saini, while addressing the workers and leaders after the event, said Punjab is poised to elect a BJP-led 'double-engine government' in the 2027 assembly elections. Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu urged Dhillon to carry all the party leaders along and work in unison. "We are ready to go door-to-door across Punjab before the assembly polls," he said. Bittu also dropped hints about contesting the next assembly polls. The shift in leadership comes as the BJP prepares to contest the 2027 Punjab assembly elections on its own. Earlier, the BJP had been restricted to an urban-centric force in Punjab, largely playing non-Jat politics by consolidating urban traders, Hindus, and Dalit communities while relying heavily on its three-decade-long alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal to secure rural and Sikh votes. However, that alliance collapsed in September 2020 over the controversial and now-scrapped central farm laws, forcing the saffron party to recalibrate its strategy. Dhillon, a two-time Congress MLA from Barnala (2007-2017) who defected to the BJP in June 2022 following the Aam Aadmi Party's landslide victory, has risen through the organisational ranks from vice-president to core committee....