A day after being elected as the mayor of Srinagar Municipality, Junaid Mattu on Friday joined the JK Apni Party (JKAP). The JKAP was formed by former PDP leader Altaf Bukhari with the backing of the BJP after the revocation of Article 370.
Mattu joined JKAP at a press conference in Srinagar in the presence of Bukhari and two other leaders of the party.
The move is being seen as an important development as it has come only a day before the first phase of the District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bukhari said they have high hopes from the young and energetic Mattu and he would ensure devopment of the city without discrimination. Mattu said he was happy to join JKAP and added that he has taken a pragmatic decision for the sake of development.
He was elected the mayor of Srinagar after bagging 44 of 51 votes.
Mattu began his political career with the Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference and then joined the National Conference (NC). He was the party's spokesman.
Mattu joined the People's Conference led by Sajad Lone in 2018, the same year in which he was elected the mayor of Srinagar with support from independents and the BJP.
However, only months later, he failed a no-confidence motion and stepped down. He was among the many political leaders who were detained after the abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP.
