Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised "a new chapter of development," if the BJP is elected to power in Punjab, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urged voters not to "experiment" but choose the Congress.
Addressing a physical poll rally in Jalandhar, the prime minister said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will make every effort to give the people of Punjab a brighter future.
"I want to assure people, especially the youth, that we will leave no stone unturned to ensure them a brighter future,” he said.
The country is moving ahead with the pledge of a new India and it can be realised when there will be a "Nawa Punjab", Modi said.
It will be that "Nawa Punjab in which traditions and development will go together, one which will be free from debt and full of opportunities, where every Dalit will get respect and honour and at every step there will be equal opportunity, that Nawa Punjab where there will be no scope for corruption and mafia, and rule of law will prevail."
Recalling his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign as the BJP's PM candidate, he said his plane was not allowed to fly as "the Congress' namdar and its yuvraj (prince), who was just an MP," had a programme near Amritsar.
"I got delayed by more than an hour in reaching Pathankot. When I reached Pathankot, my helicopter was not allowed to fly. Why? Because their yuvraj was visiting some other place in Punjab," Modi said in an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi.
"Such misuse of power used to happen for one family. In 2014, my helicopter could not fly after sunset. My two programmes in Himachal Pradesh at that time had to be cancelled. It has been the deeds of the Congress to stop its opponents. For the last 50 years, it has been doing this against its rivals," he said as he took a dig at the Gandhis.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, who addressed poll rallies in Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur, asserted that his party understands Punjab very well and can take the state forward.
He targeted Modi over unemployment, saying he does not talk about it and black money in his election speeches.
Gandhi also attacked Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his statement on the drug menace in Punjab, and asked him why he did not speak on the subject when his party's previous alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal was in power in the state.
The Congress leader promised that the drug problem would be wiped out from Punjab if his party returns to power in the state.
"Punjab's peace is the most important thing. Remember, this is not a laboratory...not a chemistry lab to carry out an experiment...because if peace goes and if hatred starts to spread here, it will not only be Punjab's, but nation's loss...
"You understand the Congress party. It can take everyone along and maintain peace. We have experience in doing so. This is not the time to experiment," he said.
Gandhi also recalled how the BJP had mocked him when he had cautioned how adversely Covid would impact India.
He said the people have been told a "lie" on Covid deaths and the actually number of fatalities is five to seven times more than what has been officially announced.
