Ex-Jammu and Kashmir minister Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali joins BJP ahead of assembly polls

Ahead of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir starting from September 18, former cabinet minister, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, joined BJP at the party office in Jammu on Sunday.

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Earlier on Saturday, Ali met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital.

 “Today I met with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding several issues in our area. We had a detailed discussion over the elections (upcoming Assembly elections in J&K) also. About joining BJP, I will speak tomorrow by holding a press conference at 10:30 am,” he said.

Ali also mentioned that as Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory, every party has to work with the Central Government.

Also Read: Assembly Elections 2024: J&K to vote in 3 phases; first legislative polls in 10 years. Check dates, other details

“Whether it was PDP or National Conference, they remained part of the BJP. At present, there is a government at the Centre with whom we have to work with as JK is a union territory,” he added.

Ali, an advocate, won the Darhal assembly constituency in Rajouri district in the 2008 and 2014 assembly elections on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket. He served as a cabinet minister in the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government from 2015 to 2018.

The coalition government fell apart in June 2018 after the national party withdrew its support. In 2020, many former PDP leaders, including Altaf Bukhari, founded the Apni Party, with Ali being one of its founding members.

The Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases from September 18 to October 1, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Friday.

According to the schedule, voting will occur on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the third phase coinciding with elections in Haryana. The counting of votes is set for October 4 for both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir has 87.09 lakh total electors, including 44.46 lakh males, 42.62 lakh females, 169 transgender individuals, 82,590 persons with disabilities, 73,943 very senior citizens, 2,660 centenarians, 76,092 service electors, and 3.71 lakh first-time voters.

The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to complete the election process by September 30, 2024. This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade, following the last election in 2014. The previous PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed in June 2018 after the BJP withdrew support from then-Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

(With inputs from agencies)