Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, during her sit-in protest in the middle of the road in Bijbehara, Anantnag, told News24 that “Our party workers have been detained all over Anantnag, Kulgam, and Shopian areas of South Kashmir. The SHO and the lady Magistrate who came here aren’t able to give reasons for these arrests; they don’t have any answers.”

Mehbooba Mufti further alleged that “They (BJP) are hell-bent on rigging these elections like it was done in 1987. If they (BJP) wanted to do all this for my defeat, they should have told me in advance, and I wouldn’t have contested polls from here.”

She said, “The whole LG administration wants to defeat me on this Lok Sabha seat and help the BJP proxies. I have no idea how many of my workers and leaders have been arrested or detained.”

Mehbooba Mufti is among the 20 candidates fighting polls from the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency.

In the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency, the election dynamics are particularly complex due to the security situation in the region. This constituency covers a significant portion of the Kashmir Valley and has often faced challenges in conducting peaceful elections due to militancy and separatist sentiments.

The region has a history of low voter turnout in previous elections due to security concerns and calls for boycott by separatist groups. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission had to conduct polling in three phases in Anantnag due to security reasons.

Mehbooba Mufti, a prominent political figure in Jammu and Kashmir, is contesting from this constituency amidst heightened tensions and allegations of interference by the central government. Her party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has a strong base in the region but faces stiff competition from other parties like the National Conference and the BJP.

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