Senior BJP leader and core committee member of Punjab unit Harjit Singh Grewal has been appointed chairperson of the National Commission of Minorities on Friday. This is the first ever back-to-back appointment of a Sikh in the key role.

Grewal will succeed former IPS officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura as chairperson of the panel. He will be the third Sikh to serve in the role the first being Tarlochan Singh.

The Government today issued a notification announcing the approval of Grewal's appointment timing it with the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chandigarh and Punjab.

Grewal is a Punjab BJP core committee member and also a National Council member of the central BJP.

Grewal had played a vital role in trying to bridge the mistrust between the government and the farmers at the height of farmers' agitation and is a very senior leader of the BJP in Punjab. His appointment signals the solidarity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP dispensation with the Sikhs, the dominant community of election-bound Punjab.

Former vice president Hamid Ansari has also served as chairman of the NCM in the past.

The appointment of Grewal on the eve of Punjab elections is key.