With the former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the saffron party got a foothold in the northern state that so far remained untouched by the BJP’s rise at the national level. As the Punjab BJP lacks leaders with a state-wide appeal, Jakhar’s induction will help the party consolidate its base among Hindu voters who constitute around 39 percent of the state’s population.

Apart from this, as former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh has already joined hands with the BJP by becoming the saffron party’s alliance partner, Jakhar could help the party in getting disgruntled Congress leaders into the BJP fold.

Sources said that Jakhar might be nominated to the Rajya Sabha and would be given the responsibility to promote the BJP in Punjab.

After joining the saffron party, Jakhar said, “Three generations of my family served the Congress party over the last 50 years. Today, I have broken the 50-year-old tie with Congress over issues of nationalism, unity and brotherhood in Punjab.”

“Today, the BJP is inducting me only because Sunil Jakhar has not used politics for personal gains. I have never done politics of division. Today, there is a need for nationalism in the country. This feeling can only come with a feeling of unity,” he added.

Having a stint under senior partner Shiromani Akali Dal’s shadow over the years, the February 2022 Punjab Assembly polls were the BJP’s first big test as the party forged an alliance with Captain Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt).

For the first time, the party contested from 65 constituencies in these Assembly polls but managed to win just two seats even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept the polls with Punjabis choosing the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit as the new alternative to the two traditional parties, the Congress and the SAD. But even this alliance with the parties of two big Punjab leaders didn’t help the BJP as its vote share remained just about 6.60 percent.

Besides facing the ire of Punjab farmers over new farm laws which were later repealed, the Sikh majority state remains a tough challenge for the BJP due to its core Hindu nationalist agenda.