Activist Mehraj Malik gives AAP maiden win in J&K

In what came as a surprise for many, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was able to open its account in Jammu and Kashmir for the first time after its candidate Mehraj Malik defeated his nearest rival from the BJP in Doda constituency of Jammu region by a margin of 4,538 votes.

Mehraj Malik was able to beat many heavyweights including BJP’s Gajay Singh Rana, National Conference’s Khalid Najib Suharwardy and senior DPAP leader Abdul Majid Wani.

Mehraj secured a total of 23,228 votes out of the total 72,980 votes polled in the elections. He was followed by Rana who got 18,690 and Suharwardy in whose favour 13,334 votes were polled.

Interestingly, AAP had not conducted an aggressive campaign for Mehraj and only senior leader Sanjay Singh had visited Doda. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal was listed as the star campaigner for J&K but he was not able to come for canvassing.

Mehraj, who is a popular leader of the Chenab Valley region, has been active for past many years as a social activist.

As a member of the District Development Council (DDC), Mehraj has been vocal against the policies of the UT administration and has targeted Lt Governor Manoj Sinha multiple times. He contested the polls on the promise of providing basic amenities, including roads in the far-off areas of Doda.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal also congratulated Mehraaj. In an interaction with Malik through video call, Kejriwal accepted his invitation to participate in a programme at Doda on October 10. Meanwhile, seven Independent candidates were also able to clinch the victory in their favour. A popular independent leader and a BJP rebel Pawan Khajuria, however, lost from the Udhampur East.

The independent candidates who won in the polls include Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh from Langate, Shabir Ahmad Kullay from Shopian, Payare Lal Sharma from Inderwal, Dr Rameshwar Singh from Bani, Satish Sharma, who is a Congress rebel, from Chhamb, Muzaffar Iqbal Khan from Thannamandi (ST) and Choudhary Mohammed Akram from Surankote (ST).

While Satish Sharma defeated Congress heavyweight and former Deputy CM Tara Chand, Payare Lal Sharma defeated former minister and independent candidate Ghulam Mohammad Saroori.