Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Friday visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar and called on the dera head, Sant Niranjan Das.

The visit comes days after Sant Niranjan Das met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the flagging off of a special train from Amritsar to Varanasi.

Ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, Paswan, who is the president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), reiterated his party’s intention to expand its presence in the state. He has previously expressed his desire to contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab.

Paswan also described himself as “half Sardar” and said he had come to meet his Punjabi family.

Accompanied by BJP leader Avinash Chander, Paswan sought the blessings of Sant Niranjan Das and spent over an hour at the dera.

Speaking to the media, the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries said, “I was in Amritsar, and am now in Jalandhar. I was only here to seek blessings of the saint. Punjab is my nanka (maternal home), my mother is a sardarni. My father Ram Vilas Paswan had a vision to expand the party in Punjab as well. Slowly, keeping the elections in mind, the Lok Jan Shakti party is also planning an expansion in Punjab. But today when I think of any expansion, I deem it important to seek Guru Maharaj’s blessings first. I’d also been to Amritsar to seek blessings at the Golden Temple. Like Bihar, I hope for similar expansion of my party in Punjab as well as I’m half sardar. My responsibility also lies towards my Punjab family. That’s the motive behind my visit today.”

Earlier in the day, Paswan paid obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and also visited the Jallianwala Bagh memorial along with his mother.