AAP seeks role for party’s Doda MLA in Omar-led J&K govt

New Delhi : The Aam Aadmi Party has asked the National Conference-Congress alliance for a cabinet birth for its lone MLA from Doda in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir government, set to be led by Omar Abdullah.

Mehraj Malik defeated BJP’s Ganjay Singh Rana by more than 4,538 votes in the assembly election held in the Union Territory earlier in the month. “We have appealed to the alliance partners to ensure our MLA is given a space in the government that is soon to be formed,” AAP leader Sanjay Singh said in a press conference on Monday.

The request comes after AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who visited Doda on Sunday, expressedgratitude to the people for electing Malik as AAP’s first MLA in Jammu and Kashmir. “AAP is formally supporting the Omar-led government, and I hope Mehraj Malik will be entrusted with the responsibility to not only serve Doda but the entire state of J&K,” the former Delhi chief minister said during his visit.

Malik scored a victory also defeating former ministers Khalid Najib Suharwardy of the National Conference and Abdul Majid Wani of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party. The NC-Congress alliance, which won a combined 48 seats out of the total 90 in the recent J&K elections, is set to form the new government, with Omar Abdullah already elected as the alliance’s leader and future chief minister. The NC secured 42 seats, while Congress won six.