Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 1: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today filed nomination papers for by-poll to Anantnag Assembly segment as it is mandatory for her to become member of the State Legislature within six months of her swearing-in.
Mehbooba filed her nomination papers before the Returning Officer for the Anantnag Assembly segment this morning. Earlier, she was scheduled to file paper yesterday but it was later postponed till today.
Mehbooba is currently a Lok Sabha member from the South Kashmir constituency. She is contesting the elections from Anantnag seat whereby-polls are being held after the death of her father and then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7 this year.
She was accompanied by Member Parliament, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, PDP leader Mohammad Sartaj Madni, former Minister, Dr Mehboob Beigh and legislators, Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Firdous Ahmad Tak at the time of filing her nominations.
Talking to reporters after filing her nomination papers, Mehbooba expressed confidence that people will repose faith in her father’s vision and elect her to fulfill it. “The people here elected Mufti Sahib and he became the Chief Minister. I am sure people will repose faith in his vision so that I can fullfill his dreams,” she said.
Today was the last date for filing nomination forms while scrutiny of papers will be conducted tomorrow. The candidates can withdraw their nomination till June 4. The voting will be held on June 19 and counting of votes on June 22.
Congress has fielded Hilal Ahmad Shah while National Conference gave mandate to Iftikhar Misger. Independent MLA from Langate constituency of North Kashmir, Engineer Abdul Rashid Sheikh has also filed nomination papers from Anantnag.
Addressing party workers at Lal Chowk Anantnag, Er Rasheed asked people to show Mehbooba Mufti her right place and also reject NC and Congress. He said that the election is a referendum between Nagpur and Kashmir and let people of Anantnag discharge their duties towards their motherland.
Mehbooba has been elected to the State assembly three times in the past 20 years with her first victory coming in 1996 elections from Bijbehara segment as a Congress candidate. She resigned from the House in 1999 to float regional People’s Democratic Party along with her father.
The PDP president won the 2002 Assembly polls from Pahalgam segment in Anantnag district but resigned two years later after she was elected to the Lok Sabha from South Kashmir. Her father won the by-poll to Pahalgam seat held that year.
She won the 2008 Assembly elections from Wachi Assembly segment in South Kashmir’s Shopian district and completed first full six-year term in the House till 2014.
The 56-year-old was elected to the Lok Sabha from South Kashmir in 2014 general elections and did not contest the Assembly elections held later that year.
She has never lost an Assembly election and her only electoral defeat so far has come in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections when she lost to arch rival and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
Anantnag constituency had witnessed uncontested polls until 1972 when for the first time people voted and elected their representative.
The Chief Election Commission (CEC) had actually announced by-election in the constituency on May 16. However, on the request of State Government that situation for election was not conducive because of Handwara incident, where five people were killed in security forces firing, CEC postponed the polls, evoking sharp criticism from NC and Congress.
The NC and Congress alleged that bye-poll in the constituency was suspended as PDP smell defeat. However, PDP refuted these allegations and said it did not want to put the lives of people at risk.
Now the CEC has announced polling on June 19 in the constituency, where Shamas Uddin of National Conference (NC) of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad faction was declared elected uncontested in 1962. Bakshi headed the NC after Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, then Prime Minister was ousted and imprisoned by Congress Government at the Centre in 1953. Bakshi later took over as Prime Minister of the State.
Shamas Uddin was again declared uncontested in 1967 but this time on the ticket of Congress as in 1965 majority of the NC leaders of Bakshi faction joined Congress.
Shamas Uddin made a hat-trick in 1972 when he was again elected after defeating Pirray Lal Handoo by a margin of 2018 votes.
However, situation changed in the entire Jammu and Kashmir, so in the Anantnag constituency, when Sheikh Abdullah joined the national mainstream following Indira-Sheikh accord in 1975 and decided to contest all elections in the State.
Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg, close confidant of Sheikh won the seat after he defeated Congress candidate Sheikh Abdul Majeed by a margin of 6630 votes. He represented the seat again in 1983 when he defeated Ghulam Hassan Naik of Congress by a margin of 5612 votes.
However, it was independent Mohammad Sayeed Shah who turned the table and won from the seat after he defeated Congress candidate Mirza Masood Beg in 1987 by a highest margin so far of 16705 votes.
Safdar Ali Beg won the seat for NC in 1996 when the elections in the State were held after about six years long Governor rule. He defeated Bashir Dada of Awami League (AL) an organization headed by surrendered militant late Mohamamad Yousuf Parray alias Kuka Parray, Beg got 6066 votes while Dada polled 5448 votes.
NC retained the seat in 2002 when Dr Mehboob Beg got elected after he defeated Liyakat Ali Khan of AL by a margin of 6028 votes. Later, the seat was represented by Mr Sayeed in 2008 and 2014.
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