Srinagar: Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday advised Jammu and Kashmir chief minister-designate Omar Abdullah to seek his help if he faced any issues while running the Union Territory.
“Like Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir have been made a half state; all power has been given to the Lieutenant Governor. I advise Omar Abdullah to seek my help if you face any issues; I know how to run Delhi,” the former Delhi chief minister said at a rally in Doda.
“Since AAP has supported the Omar Abdullah government, I hope that our Mehraj Malik (AAP MLA) will be given responsibility in Omar Abdullah’s government, so he can serve Jammu and Kashmir along with Doda,” Kejriwal said.
On October 8, AAP candidate Mehraj Malik recorded the party’s first victory in J&K elections by defeating BJP’s Gajay Singh Rana by over 4,538 votes in Doda.
Malik, a District Development Council (DDC) member, received 23,228 votes against BJP’s Gajay Singh Rana’s 18,690 votes.
Following the elections, Omar Abdullah, representing the National Conference-Congress alliance, was elected as the legislature party leader. Last week, he met with J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to claim the right to form the government, supported by letters from allies. Abdullah indicated that the swearing-in ceremony is expected to occur on Tuesday (October 15) or Wednesday (October 16), depending on the completion of necessary paperwork, which the LG indicated could take two to three days.
The National Conference and Congress alliance won the assembly polls, securing 48 seats, with the Congress contributing six seats to the coalition’s total. (KNS)
