Ex-J&K Minister rejoins Mehbooba Mufti's PDP

Srinagar, July 4 (IANS) Former J&K Minister Syed Basharat Bukhari on Thursday rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which he had left in 2019.

Bukhari was a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government headed by Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and later his daughter, Mehbooba Mufti.

After leaving the PDP in 2019, he joined the People’s Conference (PC) headed by Sajad Gani Lone.

Bukhari was recently expelled from the People's Conference. He was welcomed back into the party at the PDP headquarters in Srinagar where he announced that he was rejoining the party.

“I am too excited to work once again with PDP, especially with Mehbooba Mufti,” he said highlighting his eagerness to contribute to the party's mission and vision.

The PDP leaders expressed confidence that his return would strengthen the party and enhance its efforts to address the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The leaders said that Bukhari's experience and dedication were expected to play a crucial role in the PDP's endeavours to bring about positive change and development in the region.

Another senior PC leader, Imran Raza Ansari, the senior Shia Muslim leader, strongly refuted some media reports that he was likely to rejoin the PDP.

Rebutting the news report, Ansari said on Wednesday that he would prefer death to the dishonour of rejoining the PDP that he had left and would not even imagine rejoining the ‘sinking ship’ as he called the PDP’s future in J&K politics.