JAMMU: Former J&K minister and a founding member of the J&K Apni Party, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, officially joined the BJP on Sunday at the party headquarters in Jammu. This move comes shortly after the election commission announced assembly polls in J&K, commencing on September 18. Zulfkar's induction into the BJP was officiated by Union minister and BJP’s J&K assembly election in-charge G Kishan Reddy, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina, and Union minister of state for PMO Jitendra Singh. Zulfkar had a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi the day prior.

In his statement, Zulfkar mentioned that his decision to join the BJP was driven by his desire to promote the welfare of the ST community and facilitate progress in the Rajouri-Poonch area. Reflecting on his past political experience, Zulfkar expressed that the people in J&K had always lived in fear under previous administrations, leading them to align with the National Conference for survival. Zulfkar served as a cabinet minister in J&K from 2015 to 2018, overseeing departments such as food and civil supplies and tribal affairs.