Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday in the presence of party National President JP Nadda in Delhi. The development comes days after the leader quit Congress.

Welcoming Jakhar to the party, JP Nadda said, “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.”

Punjab is a border state and nationalist leaders like Jakhar are welcome to BJP, the party chief said. "There are issues in Punjab which are detrimental to security in the border state and to defeat such forces leaders with strong belief in nationalism are welcome," Nadda added.

The former Punjab Congress chief had been upset with the party for serving him a show-cause notice on April 11. However, Jakhar chose not to reply to the Congress disciplinary committee panel.

The former MP had also criticised former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and termed him a "liability" for the party after the Congress lost to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.