ANANTNAG : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has been declared elected from Anantnag parliamentary
constituency, defeated her nearest National Conference (NC) candidate Dr Mehboob Baig by a margin of over 65000 votes. PDP wrested the seat from NC.
This is the second time Ms Mehbooba will represent the constituency in the parliament. Earlier she had won in 2004 polls.
Besides Mehbooba and Dr Baig there were 10 more candidates in the
fray in the constituency, spread over Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama and
Kulgam districts in south Kashmir.
Out of 12.71 lakh total electorate, 28 per cent polling was recorded on April 24 in the constituency. Congress candidate Mohammad Shafi Qureshi was the first to represent the constituency in Parliament when he was elected unopposed in 1967. However, before that members were being nominated to Lok Sabha from the state. Qureshi later shifted to NC of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and represented the constituency again in 1971. This was the time when NC headed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was staying away from election process, demanding plebscite after his arrest in 1953 when he was dislodged as Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir by then Congress government headed by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.
However, Qureshi again switched over to Congress and made a hattrick winning from the constituency in 1977. But after Indira-Sheikh accord in 1975, NC candidates Ghulam Rasool Kochak, Begum Akbar Jehan, wife of Sheikh Abdullah and P L Handoo represented the constituency in 1980, 1984 and 1989 respectively.
However, in 1996 when leaders of mainstream parties, including NC and Congress were away from the valley due to militancy, an independent candidate Mohammad Maqbool Dar won from the seat and later joined the ruling party and become minister of state. In 1998 Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as Congress candidate got elected while Ali Mohammad Naik of NC represented the seat in 1999.
It was Ms Mehbooba who won the seat in 2004 and Dr Baig in previous polls.
(AGENCIES)
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