The Punjab BJP rank and file is looking to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally in Jalandhar tomorrow to give its campaign for the 2027 Assembly election the momentum it needs. It will be Shah’s first major Punjab rally since March.He addressed “Badlaav Rally” in Moga on March 14, billed as the tone-setter for the party’s 2027 prospects. There, he ruled out an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and said BJP would contest all 117 seats. Describing himself as a “ziddi” man, Shah made it clear that he called the shots on Punjab policy, including whether the party would ally with the Akalis.Contradictory signals have since emerged about the alliance, especially after Sukhbir Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month. This has kept the BJP cadre in suspense, and Shah has made no public comment. Party general secretary BL Santosh told workers to forget the Akalis and prepare to contest all seats.Party sources said Shah’s speech could indicate whether BJP has a plan for Punjab and how it intends to win voters’ trust. Former chief minister and BJP leader Capt Amarinder Singh, in an interview with The Tribune, raised a red flag about BJP’s popularity. He said, “BJP doesn’t understand Punjab.” He stressed that the party needs an alliance as the fight, at the moment, seems to be between the Congress and the ruling AAP.Shah will address the rally at a 50 to 55-acre site on Paragpur GT Road. The party expects well over one lakh people to attend. Party leaders across districts have been busy mobilising crowds. A Ludhiana city leader said workers would be taken to Jalandhar in private vehicles and buses, and that all eyes were on Shah’s event.Shah’s visit comes at the end of the Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra. BJP national president Nitin Nabin launched it on September 18 from Pathankot. Four yatras, covering nearly 4,000 km and all 117 constituencies, will converge in Jalandhar. State BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said at Fazilka on September 20 that those who spread the drug scourge “have been rattled” by the yatra. Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who flagged off the third yatra there, called it “a social reform programme to save Punjab” that should not be viewed through a political lens. Former minister Manoranjan Kalia said the yatra and the Home Minister’s rally mark the party’s formal call to eradicate drugs, and that “people will place their faith in the party”.