Even before newly-appointed Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon could settle into his new role, the party found itself dealing with an unexpected challenge – a public and blunt assessment from one of its tallest leaders, former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, and his daughter Jai Inder Kaur, who is the president of the Punjab unit of the BJP Mahila Morcha.“Kewal Dhillon is a good friend, but not the right choice as BJP chief,” Amarinder Singh said to a media house while reacting to the BJP high command’s decision to replace Sunil Jakhar with Dhillon on Thursday, nearly two months before Jakhar’s tenure was scheduled to end.The remark has triggered political chatter within the Punjab BJP at a time when the party is attempting to project unity and prepare for the 2027 Assembly elections.While voices of dissent have been heard privately within BJP ranks since Dhillon’s appointment, Amarinder Singh became the first senior leader to articulate those concerns publicly.The former chief minister also indicated that the existing combination of Sunil Jakhar as state president and working president Ashwani Sharma should have been allowed to continue.“They could have continued Sunil and Ashwani Sharma,” Amarinder Singh said.The statement is significant because Amarinder Singh rarely comments on internal BJP matters despite formally merging his Punjab Lok Congress with the BJP after the 2022 Assembly elections.Story continues below this adHaving resigned as Punjab chief minister and quit the Congress in September 2021, Amarinder Singh floated the Punjab Lok Congress and fought the 2022 Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt). The alliance, however, failed to make an impact. The BJP won only two of the 73 seats it contested, while the Punjab Lok Congress and the SAD (Sanyukt) failed to open their accounts.Since then, Amarinder Singh has largely remained away from active politics because of health reasons, making his remarks all the more noteworthy.Why Dhillon?Dhillon’s elevation has surprised many political observers.A former Congress MLA from Barnala, he joined the BJP in June 2022 after spending decades in the Grand Old Party. Though regarded as an accessible leader with strong personal relationships across party lines, his electoral record in recent years has been mixed.Dhillon won the Barnala Assembly seat in 2007 and 2012 when the Congress was in the Opposition. However, he subsequently lost the 2017 Assembly election, the 2019 Sangrur Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket, the 2022 Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll, and the 2024 Barnala Assembly bypoll on a BJP ticket.Story continues below this adThis has led some within the BJP to privately question the leadership change.“He has lost four elections in a row and has now been entrusted with leading a party that wants to emerge as a serious contender in Punjab. Many of us are still trying to understand the logic behind this experiment,” said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.Yet the BJP high command appears to have viewed Dhillon differently – as a leader capable of expanding the party’s social and political outreach beyond its traditional urban Hindu support base, said sources.Coming from the Malwa region, which accounts for nearly 69 of Punjab’s 117 Assembly seats, Dhillon’s appointment is also being seen as an attempt to strengthen the party in the state’s most politically decisive belt.High command culture versus state feedbackStory continues below this adInterestingly, Amarinder Singh also highlighted a fundamental difference between the BJP and the Congress while discussing the appointment.“In the BJP, they normally don’t ask anything; they simply do it. In the Congress, feedback used to be taken regularly,” he remarked during an interaction with a media house.The statement indirectly acknowledged the BJP’s centralised decision-making structure – a feature that many within the party see as a strength rather than a weakness.Dhillon himself reinforced that point.“BJP is a disciplined party. Decisions are taken on the basis of organisational assessments. I never went to Delhi even once to lobby for this position. In fact, I was not aware that I would be appointed president. This is the difference between the BJP and the Congress,” he said.Story continues below this adCalling the BJP’s organisational structure a “zameen-aasman ka farak” compared to the Congress, Dhillon argued that such discipline has enabled the party to form governments across 21 states in the country.Crucial junctureThe BJP has shown signs of growth in Punjab’s recent urban local body elections, improving its performance substantially compared to 2021. However, translating civic gains into Assembly seats remains a much bigger challenge.The party continues to face resistance in large sections of rural Punjab, particularly among Sikh voters. The shadow of the farmers’ agitation still influences political perceptions, while the AAP remains firmly entrenched as the ruling party.Dhillon’s primary task will, therefore, be to transform the BJP from a party with pockets of influence into a state-wide political force.Story continues below this adHe has already begun outreach efforts. A day after his appointment, he met senior BJP leaders, including former president Sunil Jakhar and national vice-president Saudan Singh, in Chandigarh, signalling an effort to maintain organisational cohesion.“All of us are on the same page. Progress happens when a team works together. We believe in ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,’ and that is how Punjab will move forward,” Dhillon said. He even stated that Capt Amarinder Singh had congratulated him.However, before the public displeasure by Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had mocked this appointment.“Congratulations to BJP leader Kewal Dhillon, who was defeated by the people of Barnala in 2017, 2019, and 2024, on becoming the Punjab BJP president. Heartfelt sympathies to Sunil Jakhar. May God give strength to Ravneet Bittu, Manpreet Badal, Fatehjang Bajwa, Tarun Chugh, and Ashwani Sharma to endure this humiliation,” the CM posted on X.Story continues below this adSources said that the names taken by CM Mann were also in the race to be the BJP president.The Jakhar factorAmid the transition, Sunil Jakhar has maintained a measured and statesmanlike tone.Congratulating Dhillon, Jakhar described his tenure as Punjab BJP president as “an honour and responsibility” and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the party leadership for their support.“My warm wishes and full support are with Kewal Dhillon ji. I am confident that under his leadership, the organisation will continue to grow stronger and serve Punjab with even greater commitment,” Jakhar said.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, political circles are abuzz with speculation that Jakhar could be accommodated in the Rajya Sabha during the upcoming round of vacancies, though there has been no official confirmation.The alliance question returnsAmarinder Singh’s intervention also revived another long-running debate within the Punjab BJP – whether the party can realistically form a government in Punjab on its own.The former chief minister reiterated his view that the BJP cannot independently capture power in the state and would eventually require an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal or another significant regional partner and said that the new president must think on these lines.It is a position he has consistently maintained over the years.The BJP leadership, however, has increasingly projected confidence about expanding independently in Punjab, drawing inspiration from its growth in states where it was once considered peripheral.Whether Dhillon can bridge this gap between ambition and ground reality will determine not only the success of his presidency but also the BJP’s prospects in the 2027 Assembly elections.Responding to former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s remarks on the appointment of the new Punjab BJP president, party state general secretary Anil Sarin said, “Capt Amarinder Singh is our senior and respected leader. I cannot comment on whatever he has said. That may be his personal opinion.”Sarin stressed that the appointment of a new state president was part of the BJP’s organisational process. “In the BJP, organisational elections and appointments are a regular process and take place every three years. The party functions according to a well-defined organisational structure. From the booth level to the state unit and further up to the national leadership, everyone works as a karyakarta. The position of party president is not merely a designation but a responsibility,” he said.“We wholeheartedly welcome Kewal Singh Dhillon as the president of the Punjab BJP and will work together as one unit to further strengthen the party’s organisational structure in the state ahead of the 2027 polls,” he added. Referring to discussions surrounding the BJP’s decision to appoint a Jat Sikh leader as state chief, Sarin said the party does not function on religious considerations.“I want to clarify that we do not practise politics based on religion. Our focus is to make Punjab prosperous. Our karyakartas come from different faiths and backgrounds, and we all work for the ‘Chardi Kala’ of Punjab,” he said. Meanwhile, highly placed sources revealed that senior BJP leaders met Capt Amarinder Singh at his Siswan farmhouse on Friday in what was described as a courtesy call following the leadership change in the state unit.