[1] Mehraj Malik began his political career after joining the AAP in 2013 and ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 Assembly elections.

[2] In 2020, he was elected to the Doda District Development Council as an independent candidate with the margin of 3511 votes in Kahara.

The authorities detained Malik due to allegations that he delivered a speech at the location where a violent incident occurred.

Malik's victory, with a margin of over 4,000 votes, marked a breakthrough for AAP in a region historically dominated by the National Conference and Congress.

He defeated BJP candidate Gajay Singh Rana, securing AAP's first-ever seat in the J&K Assembly.