SRINAGAR: In a notable development preceding the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah Bukhari, a prominent Pahari leader, along with hundreds of supporters, joined the BJP on Thursday in Jammu.
Having been associated with the National Conference for nearly four decades, Bukhari, a two-time former MLA from Surankote in Poonch district, split from the party in February 2022 due to the denial of ST status to the Pahari community.
JK BJP president Ravinder Raina welcomed Bukhari and his supporters, including former bureaucrat G M Khuwaja and retired Senior Superintendent of Police, Shabir Geelani, into the party fold.
After joining the BJP, Bukhari told reporters, “I have kept my promise of joining a party which fulfils our long-pending demand of ST status and am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Ravinder Raina for doing justice with Paharis who have struggled for 40 long years for the ST status.”
Raina described Bukhari as not only a political stalwart but also a spiritual personality wielding considerable influence over the people in both Jammu and Kashmir.
