Jammu, Oct 13 :
Former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday arrived in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir where he will address a public meeting following the party’s debut in the recently concluded Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
The AAP won the lone Doda seat in the 90-seat assembly with party candidate Mehraj Malik defeating his nearest BJP rival Gajay Singh Rana by 4538 votes. This is the first seat to be won by the AAP in the history of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
Kejriwal’s visit to Doda is seen as a token of gratitude to the voters of Doda for the party’s historic win.
Kejriwal along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and other party leaders landed in Doda in a chopper at the helipad where they were welcomed by local party leadership.
It is learnt that the AAP Supremo will address a large crowd of AAP workers and supporters at Sports Stadium, Doda to thank voters for the party’s first victory in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda Assembly seat and opening its account in the fifth state.
“Many congratulations to Aam Aadmi Party candidate Mehraj Malik from Doda for winning a landslide victory by defeating BJP. You fought a very good election. Congratulations to the entire Aam Aadmi Party getting an MLA in the fifth State,” Kejriwal had posted on his official X handle.
AAP MLA Supports NC For Govt Formation
On Friday, AAP MLA, Mehraj Malik submitted a formal letter of support in the LG office in favour of National Conference, which is set to form the first government along with Congress in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.
Newly elected MLA from Doda Mehraj Malik has a history of showing aggressive behaviors to the officials for which he is already facing several FIRs. His stint as an MLA in the Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly will be worth watching.
The NC-Congress coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to take oath on Wednesday. CM-designate Omar Abdullah said on Saturday that the President’s rule has been enforced in Jammu and Kashmir for the past six years, and they need to prepare the Cabinet’s note to end the President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Omar Abdullah is going to take over as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in the next few days. I congratulate him for being the chief minister of the INDIA alliance. We will fully support him in running a successful government and hope Jammu and Kashmir treads the path of development under his leadership,” Kejriwal.
“Delhi is called a half-state because the chief minister had limited powers. Now they (BJP) have also turned J and K into a half state which means an elected government has minimum powers whereas the lieutenant governor has more powers. I want to tell Omar that if he faces any hardship in his work, consult me because I have run the government in Delhi for 10 years,” added the former Delhi chief minister.
Kejriwal, who has run into troubles with the BJP-led Central government many times during his rule, was in Doda to thank the people for electing his party representative Mehraj Malik as the first member of the legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik defeated BJP’s Ganjay Singh Rana by over 4,538 votes besides former ministers Khalid Najib Suharwardy of the National Conference (NC) and Abdul Majid Wani of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party from the Doda assembly segment to become the first member of the AAP to register a win in Jammu and Kashmir.
