Jammu: Ahead of the Assembly elections, former minister and veteran leader Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali joined the BJP on Sunday, saying he joined the party with his commitment to peace and development in the region. Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Jitendra Singh, along with BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh and Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina, welcomed Ali into the party fold at the headquarters in Jammu. They emphasised that his entry would boost the party’s grassroots-level presence in Jammu and Kashmir.
Ali, accompanied by scores of his supporters and leaders, expressed his satisfaction in joining the BJP, citing his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts for bringing peace and development to the region. “I have chosen to join the BJP and Modi ji and Shah sahib to steer our region towards progress, development and prosperity,” Ali told reporters. He emphasised a departure from emotive politics often advocated by leaders from the valley, and said “We do not have anything to do with emotional politics preached by political leaders from the valley.
” Former vice president of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, Ali recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi to discuss regional issues and seek central support. He highlighted the need for enhanced tourism initiatives in the Rajouri-Poonch area, underscoring its potential as a tourist destination comparable to Kashmir. “I was in the process of finding a new path for serv.