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Iltija Mufti rose to prominence when her mother was detained after the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K. (PTI)
Iltija Mufti Election Result Live: Iltija is in direct contest with National Conference veteran Bashir Veeri who previously lost two elections in a row from the seat
Iltija Mufti Election Result Live: Iltija Mufti, the daughter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, is trailing in Bijbehara, trends at 11am show. Iltija rose to prominence when her mother was detained after the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K. The 37-year-old pursued a degree in Political Science at a Delhi college. She later went to the UK for a Master’s in International Relations and worked as a Senior Administrative Officer at the Indian High Commission in London and the Australia India Institute. Iltija is in direct contest with National Conference veteran Bashir Veeri who previously lost two elections in a row from the seat.
Mehbooba Mufti had also made her electoral debut from Bijbehara in 1996 and the constituency is known as the turf of the Mufti family.
A strong advocate for civil liberties and political rights, Iltija Mufti on Monday rubbished reports of her party’s support to the Congress-NC in Jammu and Kashmir. She said PDP’s senior leadership will take a call on extending support to a secular front only once the results are out. “This is our official stand,” she added.
The assertion came after most of the exit polls predicted that the Congress-NC alliance has an advantage in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Srigufwara-Bijbehara Assembly constituency is one of the 90 seats in Jammu and Kashmir that went to polls in Phase 1 of the three-phase elections on September 18. In the 2014 Assembly results, the seat was won by Abdul Rehman Bhat of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (JKPDP), who defeated Bashir Ahmad Shah of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) by a margin of 2,868 votes. Srigufwara–Bijbehara is part of the Anantnag–Rajouri Lok Sabha.
The first-ever polls in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 witnessed a voter turnout of 63.45 per cent, less than the 65.52 per cent recorded in the 2014 assembly elections. The fate of 873 candidates, vying for a seat in the 90-member house, has been sealed and it will be known today evening.
