Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali, a prominent Gujjar leader, was among eight BJP candidates in Rajouri and Poonch districts who lost in the recent elections, even after the government’s policies aimed at benefiting Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The BJP Leader’s Call for a New Union Territory

After losing the election in Budhal to National Conference’s Chowdhary Javed Iqbal, Zulfikar Ali made a bold statement. He said the people of Rajouri and Poonch should demand to be separated from Jammu and Kashmir and become a new Union Territory. In what seemed to be a critique of the current situation in Kashmir, Ali said, “We don’t want to stay with them anymore. We need to start our fight, and today is the first day of that fight. A decision will surely be made in the next few years.”

Why Did He Say This?

The BJP lost all five seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the Pir Panjal region (Rajouri and Poonch districts). This was a big blow, as the party had hoped to gain support there, especially after the government reserved seats for STs and extended ST status to the Pahari ethnic group for the first time.

Of the eight assembly seats in these districts, five were reserved for STs. The National Conference-Congress alliance and Independent candidates won all these seats, leaving the BJP empty-handed.

Did Giving ST Status to the Pahari People Backfire?

The Pahari ethnic group, who speak the Pahari language, live in the same difficult conditions as the Gujjars and Bakerwals in Rajouri and Poonch. They had been asking for ST status since 1991, after the government gave ST reservation to the Gujjars and Bakerwals.

However, giving ST status to the Pahari people didn’t sit well with the Gujjars and Bakerwals, who make up 43% of Poonch and 41% of Rajouri’s population. They were worried that this would reduce their own benefits. Despite repeated assurances from the government that this wouldn’t affect their reservations, many Gujjars and Bakerwals seemed to have supported the National Conference-Congress alliance instead of the BJP in the elections.

Who is Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali?

Zulfikar Ali is a well-known Gujjar leader from the Pir Panjal region. He’s a lawyer by profession and has won the Darhal Assembly seat in Rajouri twice as a candidate from the PDP party. He also served as a minister in the 2014-2018 PDP-BJP coalition government, managing important departments like Food, Tribal Affairs, and Consumer Affairs.

In 2020, he left PDP and joined the J&K Apni Party, where he became the party’s founder vice-president. However, the Apni Party didn’t perform well in the elections. Ahead of the 2024 elections, Ali switched to the BJP and ran for office in Budhal.

Ali’s family has a political history. His father, Chowdhary Mohammad Hussain, won the Darhal seat five times, and his father-in-law was also a three-time MLA from Gulabgarh in the Reasi district.

What Do Political Parties Say About Making Rajouri and Poonch a Union Territory?

The J&K BJP is against dividing J&K further. The party’s working president, Sat Sharma, said the focus should be on reclaiming areas lost to Pakistan, and not creating new divisions. The NC party also opposes the division of J&K, with NC Jammu province president Rattan Lal Gupta condemning Ali’s statement and asking the BJP to clarify its stance.