Jammu, Feb. 1 -- Several top-level leaders of the National Conference (NC) in the Jammu region joined the BJP on Sunday, in a setback to former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's party, months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The leaders who switched sides include senior leader and Kathua (Rural) district president of the National Conference, Sanjeev Khajuria, other office bearers, and several other members of the party. Khajuria praised the ground-level impact of the Narendra Modi government's welfare schemes and hailed the Prime Minister's leadership of India's standing on the global stage.

They joined the BJP at the party's headquarters in Jammu in the presence of the saffron party's Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Ravi...