Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said he had no plans to leave the BJP, despite his continuing opposition to the appointment of Kewal Singh Dhillon as the party’s Punjab president.Speaking on the day Dhillon — whom he called a “good friend” — formally took charge, Amarinder said his reservations were based not on personal differences, but on the “requirements” of political leadership in Punjab. Notably, both Amarinder’s daughter, Jai Inder Kaur, and his wife, Preneet Kaur, have pledged their support to Dhillon.Advertisement“I am not leaving the BJP. Every day somebody says I am off to the Congress or that I have met somebody. It is all nonsense. I have not met anyone. I have not talked to anyone,” Amarinder said. “I have known (Dhillon) for years and he is a friend. But when you are in politics, you have to assess whether a person can carry Punjab, formulate policies, sell those policies to the people and provide leadership.”Read | Kewal Singh Dhillon’s appointment revives old debate: Can BJP grow in Punjab on its own?The former CM remained unconvinced that Dhillon possessed the political drive required to expand the BJP’s footprint in the state. “I may be wrong, I may be right. Time will tell. But my feeling is that he does not have the push in him that is needed in this game,” he said.Amarinder also questioned the argument that the BJP required a Sikh or Jat Sikh face to lead the party in Punjab. “I do not believe in this business of looking for a Sikh or any other face. Religion and caste should not matter. We need capable leadership,” he said, adding that after six decades in politics, one does not wake up one morning and decide to switch parties. “I want to make a success of where I am, which is my own party.”AdvertisementRead | Why Punjab civic election outcome rings alarm bells for Congress before 2027 finalsHe reiterated his long-held view that the BJP should consider rekindling the alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). “If you want to stabilise your party for the future, that is one thing. But if you want a stable government now, there is no other way of forming a government except with the Akali Dal,” he said, arguing that Punjab’s present circumstances demanded immediate leadership rather than long-term political experimentation.“We are in a bad way economically. We are sitting on the border with Pakistan. Every day drones are coming in with drugs and other things. Punjab needs leadership today, not tomorrow,” he said.Amarinder painted a picture of a fragmented political landscape, noting that the Congress had multiple contenders for leadership, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was struggling to retain public confidence, and the Akali camp itself stood splintered.He was particularly critical of the AAP government, saying he had never seen a state government being run by people from another state. “The sad part is for my state. If you have confusion and instability, Punjab will be the loser. I want stability. I do not know how it is going to come, but for the sake of my state, I hope we get a stable government.”On Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, the chief of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) who remains detained under the National Security Act, Amarinder questioned the usefulness of his ongoing incarceration. “I do not know what the government has on him. But frankly speaking, I do not see the point of putting people in jail. What are you getting out of this by keeping someone in prison?” he said.Referring to allegations of Amritpals’s open support for Khalistan, Amarinder argued that the state should not respond to political sentiments through prolonged detention. “If you travel down the GT Road and see pictures of Bhindranwale on vehicles, are you going to lock everyone up? That is not the way to deal with it,” he said.you may likeHe sought to draw a distinction between fringe rhetoric and mainstream public sentiment, emphasising that the “mature Punjabi” wants peace, stability, development, and jobs rather than religious or separatist politics.The former CM was equally critical of the growing culture of electoral freebies. “There should be an end to this now because states are getting ruined. We just do not have the money. All parties should sit together and decide not to do this,” he said.While acknowledging that he too had introduced welfare measures during his tenure, Amarinder concluded that Punjab’s finances no longer allowed competitive populism, and that scarce resources should instead be directed towards development and governance.