J&K Assembly Polls: BJP elevates Surankot candidate Mushtaq Bukhari to Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela status. Who is he?

Ahead of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday compared the party candidate from Surankot, Mushtaq Bukhari, to the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi and former South African President Nelson Mandela. Chugh hailed him as a transformative leader and praised his efforts in bringing ‘freedom’ to the Pahari community in Jammu and Kashmir.

It is important to note that the 75-year-old politician, who is contesting from Jammu’s Surankot reserved constituency (Scheduled Tribe), joined the saffron party in 2022 after leaving the National Conference (NC) over ST status for the Pahari community. Bukhari had been with the NC for nearly 40 years.

“Jo kaam Mahatma Gandhi ne kiya tha koi bhool nahi sakta. Jis bhi party ki sarkar aaye lekin log Nelson Mandela ko nahi bhool sakte. Waise he Pahari kabile ko azadi dilane ka kaam yahan ke Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Bukhari sahab ne kiya hai ( No one can forget the work that Mahatma Gandhi did. People can never forget Nelson Mandela, no matter which ever party comes to power. Similarly, Bukhari Sahab, the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela of the Pahari tribe worked to bring freedom for his community,” Hindustan Times quoted Chugh, who oversees BJP's activities in Jammu and Kashmir, as saying.

While in National Conference Bukhari, the two-time former legislator from Surankote in Poonch district, was a close confidant of party president Dr. Farooq Abdullah.

'I have kept my promise of joining a party which fulfils our long-pending demand of ST status. I am thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and state unit president Ravinder Raina for doing justice with Paharis who have struggled for 40 long years for the ST status," Times Now quoted Bukhari as saying after joining the saffron party.

Accepting the long pending demand of Bukhari, the Modi government added four Kashmiri communities —Gadda Brahmin, Koli, Paddari Tribe and Pahari Ethnic group — to the list of Scheduled Tribes in Jammu and Kashmir.

Bukhari, who is also known as “peer sahab” in the Muslim community, is a respected spiritual leader who has a significant influence in the Pahari community. The community numbers around 12.5 lakh across Rajouri, Poonch, Baramulla, and Kupwara districts.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls will take place in three phases, beginning on September 18. Surankot will go to the polls in the second phase of the assembly polls on September 25.The results will be announced on October 4.