Jammu-Kashmir: Apni Party Leader Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali Meets Amit Shah, Set To Join BJP Ahead Of Polls

Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, Vice President of Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party met with Home Minister Amit Shah, fueling speculation about his defection to the BJP ahead of upcoming assembly elections.

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party Vice President, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali on Saturday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi as he set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the Union Territory. Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, an advocate by profession, previously represented the Darhal assembly constituency in Rajouri district, winning on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in both the 2008 and 2014 assembly elections.

He served as a cabinet minister in the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government from 2015 until 2018. The coalition government collapsed in June 2018 after the BJP withdrew its support. Following this, many PDP leaders, led by former minister Altaf Bukhari, formed the Apni Party in 2020, with Ali being one of its founding members.

A BJP leader disclosed that during Ali's meeting with the home minister, they discussed several key issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir, including the upcoming assembly elections.

In a post on X, the Apni Party leader posted, "Had a nice Meeting with hon'ble @hmo Jb Amit Shah Sb at Delhi and discussed various issues pretaining to Rajouri & Poonch besides Political scenario in the Region."

Speaking to news agency ANI, Zulfikar Ali confirmed that he would join the BJP tomorrow, "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..."

Zulfikar Ali will join BJP tomorrow at BJP headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu, J&K BJP confirmed, as per ANI.

Jammu-Kashmir Election ‘Will Further Strengthen Roots Of Democracy’ In Region: Amit Shah

This meeting comes after the BJP welcomed the announcement of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in Haryana. Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his confidence that the elections would "further strengthen the roots of democracy and open the doors to a new period of development" for the Union Territory. He also appealed to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to participate actively in the elections, urging them to "vote in large numbers to form a government that will sustain peace and development, and ensure a brighter future for the youth."

"I welcome the announcement of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir made by the Election Commission of India today. In the last 10 years, the Modi government, through a series of relentless initiatives, has created a new era of peace, development, and strengthening democracy in J-K," Shah stated on X (formerly Twitter).

BJP president J P Nadda also echoed similar sentiments, praising the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for setting "new benchmarks of peace, harmony, security, and development" in the Union Territory. Nadda urged the people to elect a government that will prioritise progress and public welfare.

The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which will be held after nearly a decade, are scheduled to take place in three phases starting from September 18. This will be the first election in the Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. The results of the assembly polls will be declared on October 4.