The proposed expansion of the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) plant at Nangal has acquired a strong political colour ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections. BJP state president Subhash Sharma on Friday claimed that the Union government has cleared the expansion of the oldest fertiliser unit of the country.Production capacity of NFL plant at Nangal would be tripled after the project is implemented, Sharma claimed.Sharma has been circulating the minutes of the meeting of Project Appraisal Committee (PAC) of the department of fertilisers of government of India. The document deals with proposals for new or replacement urea and fertiliser plants in the country including NFL plant at Nangal. Sharma presented the document as evidence of the Centre moving ahead with the NFL plant at Nangal.The development is significant for the Anandpur Sahib Assembly constituency, where the Nangal fertiliser plant has traditionally been one of the region’s most important industrial establishments and a major source of direct and indirect employment.According to the PAC document, NFL plant at Nangal, and Madras Fertilizers Limited, Chennai, had submitted proposals under the brownfield category. The committee noted that both units were old, with MFL being more than 60 years old and NFL Nangal more than 50 years old.The PAC document states that the age of the plants, coupled with their relatively high energy consumption, could make their continued operation increasingly difficult under prevailing energy efficiency norms. It stated that the old technology of the units posed difficulties in undertaking further investment through Energy Saving Schemes (ESS), besides raising safety related concerns.The PAC subsequently recommended the proposals concerning expansion of the two units.Sharma has sought to project the Nangal recommendation as a major industrial development for Punjab. He said the expansion would not only strengthen fertiliser availability for farmers but also generate employment and revive economic activity around Nangal.The proposed expansion has assumed particular political importance because of the large economic ecosystem built around the Nangal plant. Apart from employees, a sizeable number of contractors, transporters, traders, service providers and other businesses depend directly or indirectly on the industrial unit.Political observers said the BJP is likely to use the issue to underline the Centre’s role in Punjab’s industrial revival, particularly in the Anandpur Sahib constituency. With the Assembly elections approaching, the party can use the proposed expansion to reach out to industrial workers and families whose livelihoods are linked to the plant.The Nangal unit, was among the important industrial establishments associated with the expansion of fertiliser production in the post-Independence period.For the BJP the issue offers an opportunity to combine an industrial revival narrative with electoral outreach. The party can now point to the proposed Nangal expansion as a potential source of jobs, investment and fertiliser security of the region.With thousands of families having a direct or indirect stake in the future of the NFL unit, the expansion is expected to remain a prominent issue in the run up to the Punjab Assembly elections.