The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced four statewide anti-drug yatras that will together cover around 4,000 km and reach every one of Punjab's 117 Assembly constituencies. The campaign is called "Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras" and carries the slogan "Bhajpa da naara, nasha mukauna saara".
The yatras begin on September 18. State BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon made the announcement in the presence of national vice-president Manpreet Badal and former state presidents.
Punjab BJP Anti-Drug Yatra: Route, Dates and Leaders
The first yatra will be flagged off by BJP national president Nitin Nabin from Ekta Sthal in Madhopur, Sujanpur, in Pathankot district, on September 18. The venue sits near the memorial of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
The four yatras will move across the state and cover all 117 Assembly constituencies between them. The campaign will close with a rally in Jalandhar on September 30, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address the gathering.
- Four separate yatras running under one campaign name
- Combined distance of around 4,000 km
- Coverage of all 117 Assembly constituencies
- Flag-off on September 18 from Madhopur, Sujanpur, Pathankot district
- Closing rally in Jalandhar on September 30 with Amit Shah
Why the BJP Is Running This Campaign
The party has framed the yatras as a push against drug abuse in Punjab, using the slogan "Bhajpa da naara, nasha mukauna saara" — a call to end drugs completely. The choice of venue for the flag-off is also symbolic, since it is tied to the memorial of Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
The scale of the campaign is notable. Covering 4,000 km and touching every Assembly seat means the yatras will pass through both rural and urban areas of the state over roughly two weeks. The closing rally in Jalandhar, addressed by the Union Home Minister, gives the campaign a high-profile finish.
Our Take: A Political Campaign With a Social Message
To put it plainly, the BJP is using the drug issue to build its presence in Punjab, and the party is doing it at full scale. Four yatras, 4,000 km, all 117 seats, a national president at the start and a Union Home Minister at the end — this is not a small local effort. It is a state-wide political statement.
In our view, the drug problem in Punjab is real and serious, and any campaign that keeps public attention on it serves a purpose. But readers should also see this for what it is: a political yatra with an election-style build-up. The flag-off near the Syama Prasad Mookerjee memorial and the closing rally by Amit Shah are signals that the party wants to project both its ideological roots and its national weight in Punjab.
The real test is not the distance covered or the size of the rallies. It is whether the campaign leads to any concrete action on the ground after September 30. For now, the BJP has set the stage, and the coming weeks will show how Punjab responds.
