Ali Amin Gandapur, leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), contested as an independent candidate in the recent elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He won the vote to become the new chief minister of the province on Friday afternoon, after the voting finished in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly.

PTI founder Imran Khan has nominated Ali Amin Gandapur as the party’s candidate for KP Chief Minister. There is a high chance of his winning based on the number of PTI-backed members in the provincial assembly.

The former federal minister decided to contest the top provincial post in an independent capacity after refusing to join the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — the party which was joined by PTI-backed independent winners to claim their seats.

Gandapur was the former federal minister of Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan during the PTI government in the centre from October 2018 to April 2022.

Previously, he was a member of the KP Assembly from 2013 to 2018 and served as provincial minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for revenue.