Jammu, Jun 12 (PTI) A District Development Council (DDC) member affiliated with the Congress joined the Bharatiya Janata Party at a public rally in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, a BJP spokesman said.

Abdul Qayoom Mir, an elected DDC member from Thanamandi, joined the BJP in the presence of party's Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina, the spokesman said.

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Raina welcomed the new entrants into the party fold and said Mir is a prominent Congress leader who has strong hold in the Pahari community in both Rajouri and Poonch districts.

"His joining the BJP along with his supporters is bound to strengthen the party at the gross-roots level," he said.

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He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a permanent niche in the hearts of the masses across the country, as a result of which people are joining the party in large numbers with each passing day.

Raina said Modi's slogan of 'Sabka Saath, Sabkha Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas' is winning the hearts. He threw light on various development works initiated by the Union Government for the betterment of Jammu and Kashmir and the plethora of schemes that have benefitted people.

He appealed to people to maintain peace and thwart the designs of those trying to create communal divide.

"We are all Indians irrespective of our religion. We need to stay united to frustrate divisive forces," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)