Chandigarh- Sunil Kumar Jakhar, the Punjab president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has reportedly stepped down from his position, a little over a year after taking on the role. This move leaves the state BJP without a leader just ahead of the crucial panchayat elections scheduled for October 15.
Multiple sources, including those within the Punjab and national BJP circles, have confirmed to ‘Surrey News’ that Jakhar has submitted his resignation. The BJP was holding a meeting to strategize for the upcoming elections when Jakhar was contacted about his attendance. He responded by stating that he would no longer participate in meetings as the state president. However, the party leadership has not officially accepted his resignation yet.
Jakhar had previously informed key leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president JP Nadda, that he did not wish to continue as the state president after the Jalandhar by-election, which the BJP lost. The party also failed to secure any seats in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Jakhar has a history of resigning from leadership roles. While in the Congress, he resigned as the state party president multiple times, including after losing the 2019 Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat to actor Sunny Deol. He finally left the Congress in May 2022, expressing his frustration after being sidelined for the Chief Minister position, which went to Charanjit Singh Channi instead of him following the exit of Amarinder Singh.