J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passes away

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away due to multiple organ failure at the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. He was 79.
Mr. Sayeed, a two-time Chief Minister of J&K had started his second tenure on March 1st, 2015 heading Peoples Democratic Party-Bhartiya Janta Party (PDP-BJP) coalition government.

About Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

• He was born on 12 January 1936 in Anantnag district of South Kashmir.
• Political career: He had started his political career with Democratic National Conference (DNC) Party of G M Sadiq from grassroot level in 1950s.
• For first time he was elected to J&K state assembly from Bijbehara in 1962. During this time he has served as Deputy Minister in G M Sadiq led state government.
• Later he fell out with the DNC and joined the Indian National Congress (INC) becoming cabinet minister in Congress Government.
• In 1987 he left the Congress Party and co-founded Jan Morcha with former Prime Minister V.P. Singh.
• He left the Congress party in 1999 along with his daughter Mehbooba Mufti to form his own Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
• Chief Minister: For first time he became CM in 2002 heading PDP-Congress coalition government and was in office from November 2002 to November 2005.
• Union Minister: He had served as Union Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in Rajiv Gandhi Government in 1986.
• In 1989, he became first Muslim Minister for Home Affairs in the Union Cabinet headed by then PM V.P. Singh.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2016