The 650th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas has turned into a political contest in the Moga-Faridkot belt, with the BJP and the AAP simultaneously running outreach campaigns aimed at the Dalit and denotified tribes electorate ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.The state government had launched a cultural and educational campaign to mark the anniversary some days back, with special documentary vans travelling to villages across the region. Each van, fitted with a 12×8 feet LED screen, is screening a 30-minute documentary on the saint’s teachings.Sagar Setia, Deputy Commissioner, Moga, said the initiative aimed to spread the message of equality, social justice and universal brotherhood, particularly among the younger generation. The task of ensuring large turnouts at the screenings has been assigned to the district administration, with panchayat representatives, social activists and religious figures roped in.Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said the campaign would continue across the district so that the maximum number of people could learn about the life and contribution of Guru Ravidas, adding that the government’s objective was to carry the message of equality, social justice and human unity to every home to build a more harmonious and progressive society.Running parallel to this, the BJP has launched state-wide Kalash Yatras carrying sacred soil from Seer Goverdhanpur in Varanasi, the birthplace of Guru Ravidas, for distribution at local temples across Punjab on August 1. The initiative, part of the party’s “Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan”, began with the soil’s arrival at the Punjab border on August 1, followed by district-level yatras running from August 2 to 6. Ceremonial ‘kalashes’ were handed over to district presidents in Chandigarh for distribution in villages and towns, with the party describing its objective as spreading the saint’s message of social harmony and equality.Political observers say both parties are attempting to hold on to their support base among the Ravidasia and Dalit communities, which makes up a sizeable vote bank in the region. Adding another dimension to the contest, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini visited Faridkot district on Jattvibeday and addressed a large gathering of the denotified tribes’ community at a conference in Sadiq, promising restoration of job reservation for the community if the BJP came to power in Punjab in 2027. His visit came days after he also took part in the Centre’s “Nasha Mukt Yuva” campaign in Kotkapura and oversaw the induction of several local leaders into the BJP.Observers say the overlapping timing of the government’s documentary drive and the BJP’s soil yatra underlines the intensifying competition between the two parties to consolidate Dalit and denotified tribes votes in a region where these communities are seen as decisive in several Assembly segments. While the administration maintains its campaign is purely cultural and educational, the near-simultaneous political outreach has fuelled discussion in political circles that the anniversary is being used as a platform for electoral positioning ahead of 2027.