J-K BJP leader joins Congress ahead of panchayat polls

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 here.

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.