The hike in petrol and diesel prices has given the AAP government in Punjab a strong opportunity to corner the Centre-led Bharatiya Janata Party, as the political atmosphere heats up ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.
The AAP government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is trying to corner the BJP over the price rise, which could deliver a severe blow to the Modi-led NDA alliance ahead of the upcoming elections.
The price hike has triggered sharp reactions from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which have accused the BJP of deliberately withholding the inevitable hike due to elections in five states.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “Hiking petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 per litre and then announcing a marginal increase of Rs 72 per quintal for paddy is a direct assault on farmers’ incomes. This tokenism a day before increasing fuel prices clearly reflects the loot. The BJP’s anti-farmer and anti-people face is now visible to everyone.”
In a post on X, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring accused the Modi government of delivering empty lectures on reducing fuel consumption while running PR campaigns showing smaller convoys as a gimmick, before hiking fuel prices.
He said the price rise in fuel would put additional burden on poor and middle-class families, who will now have to pay more for food and other important goods. He added that the BJP does not reduce inflation but just manages headlines, saying, “Abki Baar, Petrol Rs 100 Paar.”
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Rs 3 per litre increase in petrol and diesel prices, along with a Rs 2 increase in CNG prices, would deliver a crippling to the common man who is already battling with inflation and rising living costs.
Analysts say the fuel price hike could potentially harm the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming Assembly polls, as a majority of Punjab’s population is associated with farming sector, which also remains a primary source of the state’s economy.
Even a small increase in fuel prices significantly raises farming costs, as the expense of operating agricultural machinery also goes up. Opposition parties in Punjab are trying to woo voters against the BJP over the fuel price hike, which could give some leverage to the parties ideologically opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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