Bhopal, Mar 9 (IANS): Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Congress faced yet another big jolt in Madhya Pradesh as senior party leader Suresh Pachouri, along with several leaders, joined BJP on Saturday.

Pachouri, who had tendered his resignation to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge on March 7, joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state BJP President V. D. Sharma.

Pachouri, who has been sidelined for the last few years even when the MP Congress unit was headed by former CM Kamal Nath, has been upset and was exploring his political future.

Pachouri, who also severed as state Congress President and also held various posts during the 40 years of his association with the grand-old party, has strong hold in Bhopal region.

A signal for his disappontment was made ahead of the assembly election in November last year when one of his close aides was replaced from the post of Bhopal district president. Since then, Pachouri has been upset with the party's top leadership.

Apart from Pachouri, several other Congress leaders, including former MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi and ex-MLA Sanjay Shukla (Indore) also joined the BJP.

Former MLA Shukla had contested the assembly election against senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, and lost. However, he is considered a close aide of Vijayvargiya, as he often called the senior BJP leader as his father figure.