Same post, different party: Sunil Jakhar is now Punjab BJP chief

Jakhar was the Punjab Congress president for four years till 2021 when he was succeeded by Navjot Singh Sidhu; he joined the BJP in May 2022, three months after the last assembly elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday appointed former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, 68, as its state unit chief.

BJP national chief JP Nadda handing over the appointment letter to Punjab unit leader Sunil Jakhar in New Delhi on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

A formal letter of Jakhar’s appointment was handed over to him by BJP national chief JP Nadda in New Delhi.

On Monday, Hindustan Times was the first to report that Jakhar is set to succeed Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma as the Punjab BJP chief.

Sunil Jakhar, one of the senior most Congress leaders in Punjab, joined the saffron party in May 2022, three months after the assembly elections that the Congress lost.

A former Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur, Jakhar is a three-time MLA from Abohar assembly constituency. He is known for his plain speak and straightforward approach.

Jakhar had been Punjab Congress chief for four years before being replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu in 2021.

The son of former Lok Sabha Speaker, the late Balram Jakhar, he became the PPCC chief in 2017 and headed the party’s campaign committee for the 2022 elections.

He succeeds Sharma, who has been serving his second consecutive tenure as state BJP chief for the past six months. Sharma had constituted the unit’s state and district level teams after taking charge.