J&K ex-CM Mehbooba Mufti files papers from Anantnag-Rajouri seat, asks voters not to boycott election

Naseer A Ganai

Srinagar, April 18

After filing her nomination from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti asked people to come out on the voting day and defeat those who were conspiring that people shouldn’t vote.

“There must be no boycott of the polls. I urge all the people of Jammu and Kashmir not to boycott the elections. There are attempts to encourage boycotts, particularly in South Kashmir. We must expose these conspiracies,” Mehbooba said while talking to reporters immediately after filing her nomination papers.

The voting for this seat is scheduled for the third phase on May 7. Mehbooba arrived at the office of the constituency’s returning officer and Anantnag Deputy Commissioner to file her nomination with hundreds of her supporters, who were chanting party slogans and carrying party flags.

Mehbooba appealed to the people not to boycott the elections. She said these elections were crucial for responding to the BJP’s actions against the dignity, identity, and resources of Jammu and Kashmir.

She said the people must use their voting power to defeat the BJP.

“Vote for the candidate whom you believe will advocate for oppressed people. Our land, resources, and jobs are being snatched away from us, and there are attempts to turn Kashmiris into bonded slaves. This is our land, and we will not allow its plundering at any cost,” she added.

“People must vote this time and vote cautiously in favour of the candidates who can represent them and speak truth to power without any fear and without any partiality,” Mehbooba said.

She said the election transcends party lines and is about the current state of Kashmir being transformed into an ‘open prison’.

NC has fielded Altaf Ahmad

• National Conference leader Mian Altaf Ahmad on Thursday filed nomination papers for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat as the candidate of the opposition INDIA bloc
• Accompanied by NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Ahmad filed the nomination papers before Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Syed Fakhruddin, who is the returning officer of the constituency