India, Feb. 2 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday stepped up its political outreach in Punjab with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar, an influential centre of the Ravidassia community, a key Dalit group in the state.

The visit is being seen as significant in the context of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections, with the Dalit community accounting for nearly one-third of the state's population. The dera holds considerable sway in the Doaba region, having 23 of Punjab's 117 assembly seats.

Dalits make up nearly 45% of the population in the region, and the dera is believed to influence voters in at least 19 assembly segments. Punjab has the highest Dalit population in the country at around 32...