Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini paid a courtesy visit to Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the chief of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), at the dera headquarters in Beas, Amritsar district.While the high- profile meeting was being described as a goodwill interaction and a courtesy call on the part of the Haryana CM seeking the blessings and guidance of Baba, yet it has deep political significance, closely aligning with the identical visit by BJP’s newly appointed state chief Kewal Singh Dhillon.As the reports suggested, the BJP, so far, is aiming to navigate a solo path in Punjab, independent of its historical ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in ensuing 2027 Assembly polls.Historically, the BJP’s solo footprint in Punjab was confined to urban Hindu voters. To form a government on its own, the party must win over the rural and semi-urban electorate.Dera Beas boasts of millions of followers cutting across religious lines, drawing heavily from both rural as well as urban Sikhs and Hindus.The BJP Central leadership’s constant visit to Dera is also being seen as an attempt by the BJP to neutralise rural agrarian backlash. Ever since the 2020 farm law protests fractured the BJP-SAD alliance, the BJP has faced immense friction from traditional farming unions in Punjab.Because Dera Beas commands immense respect and enforces social harmony within these very same rural agrarian communities, establishing a strong bridge with the Dera helps the BJP soften local political hostility and re-enter rural spaces without triggering widespread protests.Courting the Dera through Haryana CM, too, could be a calculated mechanism. Saini, an Other Backward Class (OBC) leader, is being increasingly deployed by the BJP central leadership to engage in “turban diplomacy” across Punjab. His frequent visits to Punjab gurdwaras and deras aim to project a welcoming, inclusive regional face to non-Jat Sikh and OBC voters, chipping away at the traditional vote banks of the Congress, SAD, and AAP.This meeting follows a sequence of interactions between the two. Previously, the Dera Beas chief paid a courtesy visit to the CM’s official residence, Sant Kabir Kutir, in Chandigarh on March 27, where they discussed various spiritual and social issues.