Religious and cultural festivals are increasingly acquiring political overtones in Punjab’s Ropar district, with political parties turning community celebrations into platforms for voter outreach ahead of the assembly elections scheduled for February next year.The trend was recently visible in Teej festivities in the Anandpur Sahib assembly constituency.The Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP entered into public engagement with women and religious communities through large-scale festivals and religious programmes.In Nangal town of Ropar district, the political competition was evident in the manner in which the three major parties organised separate Teej celebrations for women.Senior Congress leader and former Punjab Assembly Speaker KP Rana organised a Teej festival for women at the BBMB auditorium in Nangal on Wednesday evening.The event brought together women from different parts of the area and was projected as a social and cultural gathering, with Rana joining the festivities with his family. The timing and scale of the event gave it a distinctly political flavour.The AAP followed with its own Teej celebration at Shivalik Avenue in Nangal.The programme was attended by the mother of Punjab Education and Local Bodies Minister Harjot Singh Bains, giving the event political colour in a constituency where the ruling party is keen to maintain its organisational presence.The BJP, too, organised a Teej festival and dinner for women at the NFL Gold Club in Nangal today. The programme was organised and attended by BJP state vice president Subhash Sharma, who is aspiring to contest the next Assembly election from the Anandpur Sahib constituency.The competing celebrations point to a larger strategy of political parties in using religious, cultural and community events to establish personal contact with voters months before the formal election campaign begins.Women, in particular, have emerged as an important electoral constituency.Large gatherings organised around Teej, traditionally associated with women, provide political parties an opportunity to combine cultural symbolism with direct grassroots outreach without the appearance of a conventional election meeting.The strategy is not confined to Teej. Religious programs have also become an important part of political outreach in the constituency.AAP MLA from Ropar Dinesh Chadha recently organised a langar for Kanwariyas and an Ek Shaam Shiv Ke Naam program which was also attended by CM Bhagwant Singh Mann.Such events are allowing political leaders to connect with devotees and community groups while associating themselves with religious traditions that witness considerable public participation.The growing use of religious occasions in political mobilisation reflects a broader shift in Punjab politics. Conventional rallies and door-to-door campaigning are increasingly being supplemented by community feasts, religious gatherings, cultural festivals and welfare-oriented events.With the Assembly elections less than six months away, political parties appear keen to establish a sustained presence among different sections of the electorate as an emotional appeal.For the parties, these gatherings offer more than celebration. They provide parties with an opportunity to appeal to local sentiments and remain visible among voters.As election preparations gradually gather pace, the line between a community celebration and political outreach appears to be becoming increasingly blurred in the area.