New Delhi: In a major setback to Congress on Thursday, senior leader from Punjab Sunil Jakhar joined BJP at party headquarters in New Delhi. The former Punjab Congress chief joined the party in the presence of BJP national president JP Nadda and other senior party leaders. Congress had last month removed him from all positions for alleged anti-party activities. He had announced on Saturday that he would quit the party. “I welcome Sunil Jakhar to Bharatiya Janata Party. He is an experienced political leader, who made a name for himself during his political career. I am confident he will play a big role in strengthening the party in Punjab,” Nadda said, while welcoming Jakhar to the party. “BJP is taking the first place of nationalist forces in Punjab. That is why it is necessary that all the people having nationalist views should join BJP and strengthen the party,” Nadda added. “It was not an easy decision for me to join BJP because I have a 50-year relationship with Congress. Our three generations from 1972 till 2022 worked for the party as a family,” Jakhar said, after joining the BJP. “Today, I parted away with Congress not due to personal reasons, but because of organisational issues, which has forced me to take this decision,” he added. The former Lok Sabha MP had criticised former chief minister Charanjit Channi and termed him a liability for the party after Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab. Jakhar joined the saffron party a day after Congress leader from Gujarat, Hardik Patel resigned from the grand old party, citing personal reasons. UNI JA RJ
