Former Jammu and Kashmir minister Choudhary Zulfikar Ali joined BJP

Jammu-Kashmir News: Former minister Choudhary Zulfikar Ali joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday ahead of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Ali said that he has joined the party with his commitment to peace and development in the region. Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Jitendra Singh, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and BJP Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina welcomed Ali into the party at the Jammu headquarters. He stressed that Ali's arrival will increase the party's grassroots presence in Jammu and Kashmir.

Zulfikar Ali met Amit Shah

Ali, who came with his supporters and leaders, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to bring peace and development in the region. Ali, a former vice-president of his party in Jammu and Kashmir, recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to discuss regional issues and sought the support of the Center. He highlighted the need to promote tourism initiatives in the Rajouri-Poonch region and underlined its potential as a tourist destination similar to Kashmir. He criticised Kashmir-based parties for allegedly exploiting regional sentiments.

What did Zulfiqar Ali say?

Ali said, "For more than seventy years, we were told that if Muslims have to survive in Jammu, they have to vote for the National Conference. Leaders misled us by creating fear among people with this thinking, but why should we keep ourselves away from Delhi?" He said, "If Delhi is the centre of power, why should we keep ourselves away from it? I joined the BJP to bring my region on the path of development." Ali said, "Our decision to join the BJP will not change our faith. The party has made concrete reforms in the entire region in terms of peace and development." Ali, a lawyer by profession, had won the Darhal assembly seat in Rajouri district on a People's Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in the 2008 and 2014 assembly elections. He was a cabinet minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti from 2015 to 2018.