BJP Punjab president Kewal Singh Dhillon said on Thursday that if the party wins the 2027 assembly elections, it will raise the dearness allowance for state employees to 63%, matching the central government’s hike and clearing existing arrears.
Dhillon added that nearly 800,000 public servants have staged protests over unpaid DA, demanding a swift adjustment.
The promise comes after a Punjab and Haryana High Court imposed a ₹1 lakh fine on the state government for DA arrears and ordered Chief Secretary KAP Sinha to appear on November 3.
The AAP government maintains it is working to resolve the issue, but the court’s directive underscores the urgency.
Politically, the BJP’s 63% pledge turns a welfare dispute into a campaign rally, directly challenging the AAP’s record on employee benefits.
With the election date set for March 2027, voters will weigh the promise against the AAP’s governance record in a state of 7.5 million electorate.