Former minister and prominent Pahari leader from Rajouri-Poonch Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari Thursday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the polls. In doing so, he had said, he had kept his word over the grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Paharis, a long-pending demand. Bukhari, a two-time former MLA from Surankote in Poonch district, had resigned from the National Conference in February 2022 after an argument with party president Farooq Abdullah over granting the ST status. He will clash with Congress’s Mohd Shahnawaz, a Gujjar. Another Gujjar leader and Congress rebel Ch Mohd Akram, who had won the seat on the Congress ticket in 2014, is contesting as an Independent.
Candidate details | |
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Party : | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Age : | 75 |
Gender : | M |
Education : | 8th Pass |
Profession : | Self Employed |
Movable Assets : | Rs 51.5 lakh |
Immovable assets : | Rs 60 lakh |
Self Income : | Rs 8.2 lakh |
Total Income : | Rs 10 lakh |
Phase : | 2 |
Poll Date : | September 25, 2024 |
Counting of votes/Results date: : | October 8, 2024 |