Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi on Thursday morning. He was 79.
The mortal remains of Sayeed was first taken to his official residence in Srinagar amid sloganeering by thousands of supporters and workers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he founded in 1999.
Sayeed was laid to rest with full state honours at his ancestral graveyard of Bijbehara town in Anantnag district. His daughter Mehbooba Mufti is likely to succeed him, party sources said. PDP rules the state in alliance with the BJP.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among those who arrived at AIIMS in the morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his last respects to the leader at New Delhi airport.
Sayeed had been in hospital for two weeks and was being treated for a lung infection. He was put on ventilator support on Wednesday after his condition worsened.
In the past 16 years, PDP has emerged as the strongest party in the state it bagged 28 seats (out of 87) in last elections. However, Sayeed's decision to form the government with BJP's help has not gone well with many who chose him to keep the BJP away. Except Mehbooba, Sayeed's three other children are not interested in politics. His son, Tasaduq, is a cinematographer and lives in Bangalore. With Sayeed's demise, sources said, Mehbooba will have an uphill task in managing the state.
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