Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar has reportedly resigned ahead of the Panchayat elections to be held on October 15, although there has been no official confirmation. Jakhar himself is not answering phone calls. His personal assistant Sanjeev Trika told The Indian Express that there was nothing like that, adding that Jakhar has been busy and less active recently. Sources in the BJP high command have confirmed that Jakhar has expressed his reluctance to work as the state party president, saying he is unable to work independently in the state. After the Lok Sabha elections, Jakhar significantly reduced his involvement in state politics. His last public appearance was at the BJP state meeting in Chandigarh on September 3, which was the beginning of the party’s membership drive. He skipped an important meeting of the state BJP to discuss and finalize the party’s strategy for the upcoming panchayat elections.
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BJP denies reports of Sunil Jakhar’s resignation from the post of Punjab Chief
The BJP denied rumors of the party’s key Hindu face in the state, Sunil Jakhar, resigning from the post of Punjab unit president. However, no official statement has come from the party yet. Party sources said Jakhar has been upset over the situation for some time and has already conveyed to the top leadership his reluctance to serve as state party president. Sources said he said he was unable to work independently. “He has offered to step down, but the party has advised him to continue in office till the next elections, likely in December, and he has agreed to the advice,” a senior party leader said. Sources said rumors of his alleged differences with the party got a boost when he chose to remain absent on Thursday from a meeting called to finalize the party’s strategy for the ongoing membership drive. “After his absence from the meeting, rumors spread that he boycotted the meeting in protest,” a source said. Jakhar has recently returned from abroad after a month-long trip. Refuting media reports regarding Jakhar’s resignation, senior Punjab BJP leader Harjeet Singh Grewal rejected the fake news of Jakhar’s resignation and unwillingness to work.
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“Jakhar is the senior-most leader of the party and I met him two-three days ago and he has not expressed anything (on his decision to resign),” Grewal told a news channel. “Due to his commitments, he will not be able to attend the meeting (on Thursday),” he said. “It is wrong to link his unavailability, his resignation or his disappointment with the (central) leadership of the party,” he said. In July 2023, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appointed former Congress leader Jakhar as the president of its state unit. Jakhar, one of the senior Congress leaders in Punjab, joined the BJP in May 2022, three months after the assembly elections were lost by the Congress. Former Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur, Jakhar has been MLA from Abohar assembly constituency three times. He is known for his clear language and straightforward style. Jakhar was the Congress chief in the state for four years before being replaced by Navjot Singh Sidhu in 2021. Punjab Panchayat Elections Here are the complete details
Jakhar had resigned from the Congress in May 2022, where he served as state president, joining the BJP later the same month. As of July 4, 2022, he was appointed as the Punjab President of BJP. There is discontent within the BJP, with longtime members unhappy with the entry of former Congress leaders into the party and their subsequent appointment to key roles. “We will not allow Congressism to infiltrate the BJP,” a senior BJP leader told The Indian Express.
Elections for over 13,000 gram panchayats in Punjab will be held on October 15, the State Election Commission (SEC) said. Punjab State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhary said that with the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct for Gram Panchayat elections has come into effect with immediate effect. As per the election schedule, the process of filing nominations will start from September 27 and October 4 will be the last date. Nominations will not be accepted due to September 28 being a public holiday. Chaudhary said that the scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7.
