Analysis: BJP's Punjab Challenge Runs Much Longer Than A 4,000-km Yatra

Punjab's politics is no longer confined to stages, press conferences and large rallies. Increasingly, it is moving onto the roads. Almost every major political party is trying to reach voters through yatras, campaigns, public meetings and constituency-level outreach. The government wants to showcase its record. The Opposition wants to question it. Farmers, unemployment, law and order, industry and governance are all competing for political space.And now another journey has joined Punjab's crowded political highway: the BJP's 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra' (Drug-Free Punjab March). At one level, the message is straightforward. Politically, the journey may be about something considerably bigger.The BJP's four parallel yatras in different parts of Punjab are scheduled to travel nearly 4,000 kilometres and cover all 117 Assembly constituencies before converging in Jalandhar on September 30.BJP national president Nitin Nabin launched the first leg from Madhopur in Pathankot on September 18.