Doda: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unexpectedly won its first seat in Jammu and Kashmir, establishing a presence in the Union Territory, despite not securing any seats in Haryana. Mehraj Malik clinched the Doda seat in Jammu, which has a Muslim majority, by a margin of over 4,500 votes. With this victory, the AAP, already governing Punjab and Delhi, extends its legislative assembly presence to J&K, Goa, and Gujarat.
Mehraj Malik, who emerged victorious in the District Development Council (DDC) elections in J&K in 2020, has been noted for his strong criticism of the administration under J&K’s Lieutenant Governor.
Malik, a member of the AAP since 2013, serves as the district development councillor for the Kahara segment. The BJP previously won the Doda seat in 2014.
Reflecting on his victory, Malik stated, “The mandate is owned by the people, the votes belong to them, and so does the triumph. Congratulations to the citizens, for we are merely facilitators who could not bear the populace’s distress. Our aim was to champion their cause; it was never a personal battle.”
Malik’s triumph is further sweetened by the fact that he outperformed two prominent leaders from the Congress and the National Conference. Doda was one of the five constituencies where the Congress and NC opted for “friendly contests” despite having a pre-election alliance.
For this seat, the Congress put forward Sheikh Riyaz, while the National Conference chose Khalid Najib Suharwardy as their candidate.
Riyaz began his political journey as a sarpanch before becoming the general secretary of the J&K Congress. Conversely, Najib Suharwardy hails from a political lineage, with his father, Maulana Attaullah Suharwardy, securing a win in Doda during the 1996 elections.
Furthermore, Najib held the position of J&K’s Home Minister from 2001 to 2002 under the administration of then-chief minister Farooq Abdullah.
