Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today filed her nomination papers for by-poll to Anantnag assembly segment.Ms Mehbooba, who is seeking election from the Anantnag assembly segment for the first time in her political career, filed her nomination papers before the Returning Officer here.She was accompanied by Member Parliament, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, former Deputy Speaker, Mohammad Sartaj Madni, former Minister, Dr Mehbooba Beigh and legislators, Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Firdous Ahmad Tak at the time of filing her nominations.Ms Mehbooba is contesting from Anantnag seat where bypoll was necessitated due to demise of her father and the then chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, on January 7 this year.
Wednesday was the last date for filing nomination 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.Pertinently, Ms 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 has never lost an Assembly election.She resigned from the Assembly in 1999 to float regional Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) along with her father.She 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 Anantnag.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.She was elected to the Lok Sabha from south Kashmir in 2014 general elections and did not contest the Assembly elections held later that year.