Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday made peace with senior PDP leader Altaf Bukhari by inducting him in her cabinet. Bukhari was a minister in former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayyed's cabinet but after his death, he was seen cozying up to the BJP when Mehbooba delayed the government formation.
Altaf was seen as a rebel by Mehbooba and her aides amid reports that he was conniving with the BJP to pressurise the chief minister not to snap ties with the saffron party.
After Mufti's death, Mehbooba showed no interest in stepping into fathers's shoes, causing anxieties to her party leaders and the BJP who thought she might end the alliance with them.
Weeks after Mehbooba showed no inclination to form the government, reports emerged that the BJP along with some leaders of the PDP was exploring possibilities of an alliance if Mehbooba called it off. Bukhari's name started doing the rounds among those PDP leaders who the BJP was in touch for any exigency.
After Mehbooba took the oath as chief minister, largely to keep her flock together, Bukhari was not given a cabinet berth. This had enraged the senior leader.
Sources said lobbying by Bukhari's friends finally saw Mehbooba inducting him in her cabinet as education minister. Earlier, he was minister for roads and buildings.
The development is likely to help the PDP mobilise support for the impending parliament elections in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, PDP leader Basharat Bukhari resigned from the cabinet after his ministry was changed from Revenue, Relief, and Rehabilitation to Horticulture.
Asked about the reason for his resignation, Basharat Bukhari said: “I have given all the reasons for tendering my resignation to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and she is the best to explain those reasons.” The development has come on a day when the chief minister made the first expansion of her cabinet after taking over the top job. Sources said Bukhari is apparently unhappy with the change of his portfolio.
