Former RS ​​MP, senior BJP leader Balbir Punj passed away

Former BJP MP Balbir Punj. File | Photo credit: V. Sudershan

Former Rajya Sabha MP, journalist and senior BJP leader Balbir Punj (76) passed away on Saturday evening (April 18, 2026).

Mr. Punj, a former BJP vice-president and associated with the RSS since his youth, has had a long career in public life — in politics and political circles and in the media. He began his career as a journalist in 1971 at The Motherland newspaper, later serving for two decades at the Financial Express and from May 1996 to March 2000 as managing editor of The Observer of Business and Politics.

He served two terms as a member of the Rajya Sabha, between 2000-2006 from Uttar Pradesh and 2008-14 from Odisha. He also served as chairman of the National Youth Commission, which has the status of a foreign minister in the central government.

He was considered an important figure in terms of contributing to the BJP’s interventions and stances in public policy, as well as being the author of Tryst s Ayodhya: Decolonization of India (Kitab Wale).

Mr. Punj was also actively involved in journalism institutions. From 1989 to 1991, he served as the President of the Delhi Journalists Association for two consecutive terms and from 1993 to 1995 was the General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists.

Published – 19 Apr 2026 01:45 IST