NEW DELHI: Mushtaq Ahmad Shah Bukhari, a former minister and BJP candidate from Surankote, passed away on Wednesday morning at his residence in Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir.
The 75-year-old leader, who had been unwell for some time, suffered a fatal heart attack at 7 am. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son.
Bukhari, who had served as an MLA from Surankote for two terms, had recently joined the BJP in February 2023 following the Centre’s decision to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Pahari community, to which he belonged.
He was subsequently nominated as the BJP candidate for the Surankote constituency, which participated in the second phase of polls on September 25.
Prior to joining the BJP, Bukhari had been associated with the National Conference for four decades. However, he decided to part ways with the party in February 2022 after a disagreement with party president Farooq Abdullah over the Scheduled Tribe status issue.
The news of Bukhari’s demise was met with condolences from various political leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina, who described him as “a mass leader” whose death has left “a void which is very hard to fill.”