BJP candidate Syed Mushtaq Bukhari dies ahead of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election results

The news about his death was shared by the BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina, who wrote on X. “Shocked & deeply pained to hear the demise of a Political Stalwart and BJP candidate from Surankote Assembly Constituency Jeenab #Sayeed Mushtaq Bukhari Sahib. This is an irreparable loss of the whole of the society in Rajouri & Poonch. I express my heartfelt condolences.”

A veteran National Conference (NC) leader and two-time MLA from Surankote, Bukhari severed his nearly four-decade association with the party following a disagreement with party president and former chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah over the issue of ST status for 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 the Pahari Muslims, who used to call him “peer sahab.”

The Surankote Assembly constituency, which forms part of the Pir Panjal region and extends to the border Rajouri and Poonch districts, went to the polls on September 25 during the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The three-phase polls concluded on October 1 and the votes will be counted on October 8.