Jammu: Ahead of the scheduled assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under President's Rule since 2018, the political scenario here turned topsy-turvy with several leaders returning to their old parties and some joining new fronts.
On August 16, poll panel chief Rajiv Kumar announced that J&K would vote on September 18 and 25, and October 1, with results due October 4.
Soon after, on Saturday, August 17, Choudhary Zulfikar Ali, who has previously been associated with various political parties including the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), met Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, indicating his entry into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
As per sources, he is set to join the BJP on August 19, in Jammu, in the presence of Union Minister Krishan Reddy and General Secretary Tarun Chugh. Zulfikar was the Cabinet Minister for multiple departments including Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, and Tribal Affairs.
He was also a founding member of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), where he served as Vice President. He had won from the Darhal constituency in the 2008 and 2014 Assembly Elections on a ticket from the PDP. His move to the BJP is expected to strengthen the party’s presence in the region that is eyeing to form a government in the Union Territory.
He uploaded a photograph with Home Minister Amit Shah on X and posted: Had a nice Meeting with hon'ble @hmo Jb Amit Shah Sb at Delhi and discussed various issues pertaining to Rajouri & Poonch besides Political scenario in the Region.
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. pic.twitter.com/HJFYNcLdyR
— Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali (@chzulfkarali) August 17, 2024
In another political development, former J&K Minister Taj Mohiuddin on Saturday, August 17, announced his resignation from the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) to rejoin the Congress. "I have resigned from the Democratic Progressive Azad Party," Mohiuddin told the media.
About re-joining the grand old party, he said that he had been associated it for more than four decades and wishes to join it again in a few days. "I had intentions of 'ghar wapsi (homecoming)' but there was no question of doing it without consulting my workers. Now that they have given me a nod, there is no looking back," he added.
Asked about his reasons for leaving the DPAP, Mohiuddin said he had been with the Congress for about 45 years and his workers associated him only with the grand old party and its symbol. A former legislator from the Uri assembly segment in North Kashmir's Baramulla district, Mohiuddin had resigned from the Congress in August 2022 in support of Azad.
Former MLA and Apni Party senior leader Qamar Ali Chowdhary told ETV Bharat that he is in talks with party workers about his political future and within days will decide where to go. Assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade, setting the stage for the people of the union territory to elect a government after the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019.
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