JAMMU: Former Jammu and Kashmir minister and a founding member of J&K Apni Party, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, officially joined the BJP on Sunday at the party headquarters in Jammu. This move comes shortly after the election commission announced assembly polls in J&K, scheduled to commence on September 18. Zulfkar's induction into the BJP was led by Union minister and BJP’s J&K assembly election in-charge G Kishan Reddy, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina, and Union minister of state for the Prime Minister's Office, Jitendra Singh. Prior to this, Zulfkar had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Expressing his reasons for joining the BJP, Zulfkar highlighted his commitment to the welfare of the ST community and the progress of the Rajouri-Poonch region. He shared that despite being part of the J&K government previously, there was a constant fear lingering. Zulfkar served as a cabinet minister in J&K from 2015 to 2018, overseeing departments like food and civil supplies and tribal affairs.