Jammu and Kashmir BJP leader joins Congress ahead of panchayat polls

Panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in nine phases, beginning on November 17.

Ahead of panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior BJP leader joined the Congress on Wednesday, a party spokesman said.

The vice president of the BJP’s minority cell, Avtar Singh Challa, was welcomed into the Congress fold by its state president G A Mir and other senior leaders at the party office in Jammu. (HT File Photo)

The vice president of the BJP’s minority cell, Avtar Singh Challa, was welcomed into the Congress fold by its state president G A Mir and other senior leaders at the party office in Jammu.

According to the Congress spokesman, Challa unsuccessfully contested the 2014 assembly election on a BJP ticket from Tral in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

Panchayat election in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in nine phases, beginning on November 17.