J&K Poll Players | Altaf Bukhari: Critical Test For The New Party

Altaf Bukhari is campaigning to reclaim the Channapora Assembly constituency, a seat he previously held (as Amira Kadal constituency) from 2014 to 2018. This time, however, he is seeking election not under the banner of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), but as the leader of his new Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP).

For Bukhari and the JKAP, this election is the first crucial test for the party since its formation in 2020. Bukhari broke away from the PDP along with other members and joined forces with some from the Indian National Congress (INC) to establish the JKAP.

Bukhari is Kashmir Valley’s top businessman and one of the richest people in the area. Having graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural science, he took over his father’s pesticide business and expanded it to other parts of the country. After about ten years, he ventured into the food processing industry, becoming the only private company in apple processing with German collaboration.

Bukhari first entered politics in through the 2014 Assembly polls, winning Amira Kadal in Srinagar on a PDP ticket. Under the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government, he held several Cabinet positions, including Roads and Buildings Minister, Minister for Floriculture, Gardens, and Parks, as well as Education and Finance Minister. After Sayeed died in 2016, Bukhari was not part of the Cabinet when Mehbooba Mufti took over.

In January 2019, Altaf Bukhari was expelled from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) due to “anti-party activities.” The PDP accused Bukhari of pursuing his own political ambitions at the expense of the party and the state's interests. Bukhari was believed to have been involved in attempts to form a coalition with the National Conference and Congress after the BJP-PDP government dissolved in June 2018. His name was being proposed for the Chief Minister position.

In March 2020, Altaf Bukhari founded the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), bringing together about 30 former members from the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Indian National Congress, and other political affiliations.

The party’s main goals includes advocating for the full restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood and securing residents' rights to land and jobs. Bukhari, who was elected as the party’s president, emphasised that JKAP seeks to represent ordinary people, distinguishing itself from the dynastic politics of the National Conference (NC) and PDP.

The party has fielded 24 candidates in the upcoming Kashmir elections.