Despite little resistance from protesting farmer unions and being able to campaign in villages of their constituencies unlike the Lok Sabha elections, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) not in the picture, the BJP in Punjab put up a poor show in the four Assembly bypolls on Saturday, highlighting the need for an overhaul in the coming months. “The road ahead is challenging for us and we really need to work hard if we want to make an impact in the 2027 Assembly polls,” a BJP leader said, requesting anonymity. BJP candidates in Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, and Chabbewal forfeited their deposits while in Barnala the party came third and it’s nominee was able to save the deposit. This comes months after the the party registered a blank in the Lok Sabha polls despite an increased vote share of 18.5%, almost double from the 2019 parliamentary polls in which it won two of the state’s 13 Lok Sabha seats. As the Lok Sabha debacle triggered calls from within the party urging it to be aggressive …