Former JKNC leader Shahnaz Ganai Joins BJP Ahead Of Lok Sabha Polls

Former leader of Jammu and Kashmir's National Conference Dr. Shahnaz Ganai joined BJP on February 12 at the party headquarters in Delhi.

Former JKNC leader Dr. Shahnaz Ganai joined BJP at party's Delhi headquarters.

Source : X/@BJP4JnK

Former leader of Jammu and Kashmir's National Conference Dr Shahnaz Ganai joined the Bhartiya Janata Party at the party's Delhi headquarters on Monday. The senior leader who was the female face of J&K's Pir Panjal region and former Member of the State Legislative Council, joined the saffron party in the presence of Jammu and Kashmir's election in-charge Tarun Chugh and Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh.

#WATCH | JKNC leader Dr Shahnaz Ganai joins BJP at party headquarters, in Delhi pic.twitter.com/sbKUmUImwz

— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2024

The decision came in ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections which will be followed by Jammu and Kashmir panchayat and legislative assembly polls, expected to be held after a few months this year.

In 2019, Shahnaz resigned from the NC party as she had been feeling uncomfortable for quite some time with the party's approach toward issues in Poonch and Rajouri districts. She had reportedly conveyed her concerns to the party which were ignored as well, prompting her to resign, Indian Express reported as per inputs from the party leaders.

Shahnaz hails from Poonch's Mandi area and is the daughter of the late National Conference leader and former minister Ghulam Ahmed Ganai. She served a five-year tenure from 2013-2018 in the Legislative Council as a nominee of the National Conference through the Panchayat quota. 

Several other top leaders of the NC joined BJP on January 29 in Jammu and Kashmir, which posed as a huge setback for the former CM Farooq Abdullah's party.

The leaders who switched sides included senior leader and district president of Kathua district, Sanjeev Khajuria and his district and mandal officers. Khajuria had been associated with NC for the last 35 years but joined BJP ahead of the general elections.

Ravinder Raina, President of Jammu and Kashmir, along with General Secretaries Adv. Vibodh Gupta and Dr. Devinder Kumar Manyal, former minister Prem Sagar Aziz, and senior leader Devender S Rana, extended a warm welcome to Sanjeev Khajuria and his party members at the BJP headquarters in Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.