Jammu ,Oct 2 (KINS)
Syed Mushtaq Bukhari, BJP candidate from Surankote assembly constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, died on Wednesday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 75 years old.
Bukhari is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. He was a candidate from BJP’s constituency 88. Bukhari died a day after the third and final phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Many leaders have condoled Bukhari’s death. Former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta posted and condoled the death of former minister and BJP candidate from Surankote, Syed Mushtaq Bukhari. He wrote that “I express my condolences on the sudden demise of BJP leader Mushtaq Bukhari.
BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir President Ravinder Raina also posted and wrote on X that “Shocked and deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of political veteran and BJP candidate from Surankote assembly constituency Syed Mushtaq Bukhari sahab. It is an irreparable loss for the entire society of Rajouri and Poonch. I offer my heartfelt condolences.”
Senior National Conference (NC) leader and two-time MLA from Surankote, Mushtaq Bukhari had severed his nearly four-decade-old ties with the party following differences with party president and former chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah over the issue of granting ST status to the Pahari community.
He joined the BJP in February this year after the Centre granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Paharis. He was a revered spiritual leader among Pahari Muslims, who called him “Peer Saheb”.
Surankote Assembly constituency, part of the Pir Panjal region and spread across border Rajouri and Poonch districts, went to polls on September 25 during the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The three-phase elections concluded on October 1. Counting of votes will take place on October 8.
