2016 Anantnag Bypolls - Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti beat her nearest Congress rival Hilal Shah by over 12,000 votes Saturday June 25,2016

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has won the Anantnag bypolls by defeating her nearest Congress rival Hilal Shah by over 12,000 votes.

The vote count, which began in the morning, was briefly disrupted after Congress supporters alleged descripancies in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and that bogus votes were being counted in the name of postal ballots. 

However, the counting resumed immediately even as dozens of supporters of the Congress candidate shouted anti-government slogans and protested over “unsealed” postal ballots.

The returning officer refused to entertain his protest, leading to a ruckus inside the counting centre at Government Degree College, Anantnag and disruption in the vote count. 

The PDP said the Congress protest was a frustration over its impending defeat. “They are losing out at places where they had good support. So, this is expected from them,” PDP legislator Abdul Raheem Rather told

Note

Eight contestants were in the fray. The constituency has over 84,000 eligible voters and and nearly 28,500 voted on Wednesday despite a poll boycott called by separatist politicians and militants. 

The by-election was necessitated because of the death of the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who represented the constituency in the assembly, which has an effective strength of 87. 

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed passed away in New Delhi on January 7,2016 after a brief illness. 

Ms. Mehbooba assumed power after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of the PDP-BJP coalition government on April 4,2016

It is mandatory for a Chief Minister or any other minister in the state to become a member of either house of state’s bicameral legislature within six months of being sworn in. 

At present, Mehbooba Mufti represents the south Kashmir Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in parliament.