The Punjab BJP on Friday asserted that Sunil Jakhar was leading the party in the state, dismissing as "totally baseless" speculation that he had resigned from his post.

Though the 70-year-old Jakhar himself was not responding to calls, his close aide Sanjeev Trikha told PTI that there was nothing like this.

A media report had claimed that Jakhar has quit as the Punjab unit chief.

Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin dismissed it as "totally baseless and false".

He said Jakhar is leading the party's state unit.

On Jakhar staying away from Thursday's meeting of the party's membership drive, Sarin said it was not important for the state unit chief to be present in every meeting.

Referring to reports of his resignation as the Punjab BJP chief, Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said on X, "Mr @sunilkjakhar, All the best, where next ?"

Jakhar was appointed as the Punjab BJP chief in July 2023, succeeding BJP MLA Ashwani Sharma. He had joined the BJP in May 2022, three months after the Congress lost the Punjab assembly poll.

A former Congressman, Jakhar served as MLA thrice from the Abohar assembly constituency and also as Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur.

Jakhar also served as Punjab Congress chief and as the Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly during 2012-2016.

He is the son of former union minister and Lok Sabha Speaker late Balram Jakhar.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.