Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar’s absence from Bharatiya Janata Party’s day-to-day affairs has put the party in an awkward position ahead of panchayat and bypolls in Gidderbaha, Chabbewal, Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala.
Jakhar, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 13, has stopped attending party meetings and has conveyed to the party high command not to expect his participation in any programme.
Party functionaries privy to the development said that Jakhar is “miffed” with the high command for meddling in Punjab affairs and also not getting the Rajya Sabha seat as “promised” at the time when he made the switch from the Congress to the saffron party.
“Jakhar is upset with the party high command as he was overlooked for the RS seat. The party picked Ravneet Bittu as Union minister despite his defeat from Ludhiana in the Lok Sabha polls and later got him elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. This has upset Jakhar. Moreover, he is also finding it difficult to adjust himself to the BJP culture and functioning,” a senior party functionary, considered close to Jakhar, said on the condition of anonymity.
Jakhar succeeded Ashwani Sharma as the state chief in July 2023 after joining the saffron party in 2022, three months after the Congress lost the Punjab assembly polls.
{{/usCountry}}Jakhar succeeded Ashwani Sharma as the state chief in July 2023 after joining the saffron party in 2022, three months after the Congress lost the Punjab assembly polls.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, Jakhar skipped a meeting chaired by national vice-president Rekha Verma. The senior leaders present in the meeting, including Rekha, waited for Jakhar for 30 minutes at the state unit’s headquarters here. When the party general secretary Rakesh Rathore called Jakhar, he politely declined to attend the meeting.
“Jakhar politely conveyed to Rathore that he won’t be attending any meetings from now on,” a party leader said.
Leaders close to Jakhar said the state chief has also conveyed to the high command that till the time BJP doesn’t give powers to grassroots workers, nothing is going to change for the party in Punjab. Jakhar also conveyed this to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting on September 13, people aware of the matter said.
“He told the Prime Minister till the party doesn’t understand Punjab issues, he or any other president of the party won’t be able to make much difference,” disclosed one of his close associates, who is holding an important position in the state unit.
After meeting with the PM, Jakhar stopped attending party meetings and is hardly visible in the media as well.
Jakhar’s absence has not gone down well with some party leaders, especially when it is in the middle of a membership drive and is also preparing for panchayat polls scheduled on October 15.
“Punjab is also set for bypolls on four assembly seats that are likely to be announced anytime. How can the party function when the state unit chief is absent,” questioned a senior BJP leader from Doaba.
On September 29 state party affairs in-charge and former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani will be holding a meeting to take stock of the party’s preparedness for upcoming bypolls in Gidderbaha, Chabbewal, Dera Baba Nanak and Barnala and it will be interesting to see if Jakhar attends the meeting.
A former Congressman, Jakhar, served as MLA thrice from the Abohar assembly constituency and was also elected to Lok Sabha from Gurdaspur.
Son of former Union minister and Lok Sabha speaker late Balram Jakhar, he has remained the Punjab Congress chief and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly from 2012 to 2016.
BJP rejects reports of Jakhar’s resignation
The Punjab BJP on Friday asserted that Sunil Jakhar was leading the party in the state, dismissing as ‘totally baseless’ speculation that he had resigned from his post. State unit general secretary Anil Sareen, in a statement, termed the news as ‘baseless’ and ‘false’.
“Jakhar is president of the state unit of the BJP and is performing his duties as president. This is a false propaganda being spread by the opposition parties,” Sareen said.
Jakhar’s closest aide Sanjeev Tarikha when contacted said Jakhar’s has not resigned. “There is nothing like resignation as far as I know,” he said.