Mehbooba has it easy in Anantnag

Tribune News Service

Anantnag, June 25

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti today won a decisive victory in the Anantnag  byelection, securing 17,698 votes, almost 60 per cent of the total votes polled, silencing critics that her alliance with the BJP had made the PDP unpopular. 

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Her victory margin was 12,083 votes — double than that of her late father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The latter had won the Anantnag seat in 2014 with a margin of 6,028 votes. 

“The people have reposed their faith in Mufti Sahib’s vision as well as in Mehboobaji’s leadership,” Sartaj Madni, party general secretary, told the media.

Mehbooba gained a lead in the first round of counting which kept increasing with each successive round. Her closest rival, Congress candidate Hilal Ahmad Shah, could get only 5,615 votes. He staged a protest, alleging the results had been rigged. He was joined by other six defeated candidates, who demanded a re-election.