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Jammu’s Pahari leader Syed Mushtaq Bukhari joins BJP
Syed Mushtaq Bukhari joining the BJP is being as a shot in the arm for the party In Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Lok Sabha elections
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received a shot in the arm ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, with former minister and prominent Pahari community leader Syed Mushtaq Bukhari joining the party.
After a near-four decade association with the National Conference, Bukhari had parted ways with the Abdullahs in February 2022 over denial of ST status to the Pahari community.
Bukhari, a spiritual leader locally referred to as “peer sahab” by the Muslim community, has significant clout in the Pahari community, which roughly has a population of around 12.5 lakh in Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla and Kupwara districts.
After a rousing reception to Bukhari and his supporters, the veteran leader said that he has kept his word.
“I had promised that whichever party granted ST status to the Pahari community, I will join it. Today, I have kept my word. I express my gratitude to prime minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina for fulfilling their promise made to the community,” he said in his short speech at the BJP headquarters here.
“It took 70 years for me to sit here…I am confident that each and every Pahari will come and hug Ravinder Raina and other party leaders. Previous regimes did grave injustice and discriminated against the Pahari community but PM Modi has fulfilled a demand, which had been pending for the last 40 years,” he added.
Raina had earlier in his address dubbed Bukhari not only a leader with a tall stature but a spiritual leader, who enjoyed the faith of the lakhs of people.
“Syed Mushtaq Bukhari played big role in previous governments and he remained associated with the National Conference for the past 35 years to 40 years,” Raina said.
A two-time former MLA from Surankote in Poonch district, Bukhari was once a close confidante of National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah.
However, he parted ways in February 2022 following an argument with Abdullah over ST status for the Pahari community.
Besides Bukhari, scores of his supporters, including former bureaucrat GM Khwaja and retired senior superintendent of police Shabir Geelani also joined the BJP.
The BJP-led central government recently added four communities, viz, Gadda Brahmins, Kolis, Paddari tribe and Pahari ethnic group to the list of scheduled tribes in Jammu and Kashmir.
