The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday bagged its first Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seat with winning the Doda constituency in Jammu.

According to data from the Election Commission, Malik defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gajay Singh Rana by a margin of 4,538 votes. The National Conference’s Khalid Najib Suharwardy placed third while Sheikh Riyaz Ahmed from the Congress came placed fifth.

In 2014, when the last Assembly elections were held in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP’s Shakti Raj won the Doda seat. However, the constituency has historically flipped between the Congress and the National Conference since the first state elections in 1962.

Malik joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2013. He is the district development councillor from the Kahara segment. According to , Malik grabbed attention for his strong criticism of the administration under the lieutenant governor in Jammu and Kashmir.

After the results for the Doda Assembly seat became clear, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Malik.

“You fought a very good election,” said Kejriwal on X. “Congratulations to the entire Aam Aadmi Party for having MLAs in five states.”

डोडा से आम आदमी पार्टी के उम्मीदवार मेहराज मलिक द्वारा बीजेपी को हराकर शानदार जीत...