Prominent Pahari leader Syed Rafiq Shah joins BJP
Srinagar, February 24
Former Legislative Council member and prominent Pahari leader Syed Rafiq Shah officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today.
Welcoming him into the party fold, BJP president Ravinder Rana described it as a big development. Raina introduced Shah as a former member of the Upper House in the former Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. He said Shah, who hails from the Tehrgam area in north Kashmir, was earlier affiliated with the National Conference before his decision to join the BJP.
Shah’s decision to join the BJP, alongside Syed Manzoor Hussain Shah, Syed Tajamul, Syed Aamir and Syed Ahtsham, represented a significant shift, Raina said. “Whether it’s in Jammu or Kashmir and beyond, a considerable number of people are joining the BJP,” Raina said.
Shah was formerly associated with the National Panthers Party but joined to the National Conference in 2019. Shah is joining the list of several prominent Pahari leaders, including former minister Mushtaq Ahmad Shah Bukhari and former MLC Shahnaz Ganai, who recently joined the BJP following the Central Government’s inclusion of four additional communities, including the Pahari-speaking people, in the Scheduled Tribes list earlier this month.
