By Jasleen Kour
Jammu, August 18: A day after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, the vice president of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party Choudhary Zulfikar Ali formally joined the BJP at Jammu.

Zulfikar, a former minister in the previous PDP-BJP government, joined the Saffron Party in the presence of Union Minister G. Kishen Reddy, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, and J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina.

G Kishen Reddy came all the way from Delhi to attend the joining function.

On his decision to join the BJP, former PDP leader Chaudhary Zulfikar Ali says, “The policies and schemes of the BJP have reached even the last person in the queue. These things compelled me to join the BJP. Every person received the ‘sehat card’ which the people of my area refer to as the ‘Modi card’. Peace has been restored in J&K, stone pelting has ended, the common man feels more secure, and the tourism industry has grown. We will form our government. What has he (Omar Abdullah) done for J&K? They have been giving only slogans after ruling for 70 years”.

Joining Choudhary Zulfikar Ali in the BJP will change the political landscape in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri where the BJP is desperately trying to rope in a prominent Muslim face.
Although prominent Pahari leaders namely Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari, Dr. Shahnaz Ganai, Iqbal Malik and others have joined the BJP, the party was desperately looking for a prominent Gujjar face in this region.


Veteran politician and former Lok Sabha Choudhary Talib Hussain and Abdul Gani Kohli had joined the BJP in 2014 but his influence in confined only in the Rajouri assembly segment.

With the countdown to the Assembly elections underway, the BJP was making concerted efforts to bring on board influential Muslim figures in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.

Despite some notable Pahari Muslim leaders aligning with the BJP following the Union Government’s decision to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Pahari ethnic group, the party was seeking strong Muslim candidates who can secure victories in Poonch and Rajouri constituencies.

Sources indicate that the recent Lok Sabha election results have shaken the confidence of the BJP’s leadership in the current party officials in Poonch and Rajouri. These leaders were unable to garner sufficient support for Zafar Iqbal Manhas, the Apni Party candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, who had the backing of the BJP.

With the exception of the newly created Kalakote-Sunderbani segment, which is part of the Jammu-Samba Lok Sabha constituency, the National Conference managed to secure leads in all other Assembly segments within these two districts.

Even in the Nowshera Assembly segment, the home turf of current BJP chief Ravinder Raina, the National Conference outperformed the BJP-supported Apni Party candidate.

It is worth noting that the Assembly seats of Rajouri, Thanamandi, Budhal, Surankote, and Mendhar are now reserved for Scheduled Tribes. This marks the first time in Jammu and Kashmir’s political history that ST reservations have been implemented, as recommended by the Delimitation Commission.

Despite the Pahari community being granted ST status and several Pahari leaders joining the BJP, the party remains focused on attracting key Muslim figures in these districts to pose a significant challenge to opposition parties.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP secured victories in only the Nowshera and Kalakote segments. This time, the party aims to improve its standing, particularly after the extension of ST status to the Pahari-speaking population.

Ends

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