Women voters in Anantnag pin hopes on state’s first woman CM for development and upliftment

In Anantnag advantage for Mehbooba Mufti

With two days to go for the byelection, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has an advantage over other contestants to get an entry into the Assembly from the Anantnag constituency.
Most women voters in the constituency are excited about Mehbooba Mufti contesting from Anantnag. They are hopeful that she will go the extra mile to work towards the growth and development of the Muftis’ ancestral town Bijbehara and Anantnag district.
Rafiqa Bano, 55, a homemaker from Munwara village, is all excited about casting her vote. She and several other women of her village say Mehbooba has every right to win. In Rafiqa’s village, most of the women participate in elections.
“I will vote for Mehbooba. We have been supporting PDP from the beginning. They built a road for us. No former government except the PDP has worked for our development,” says Rafiqa.
Munwara villagers have been deprived of tap water for the last few years. This is one of the major issues they want the PDP to address. “We are waiting and hopeful that Mehbooba will solve our problems as we have been supporting her every time. She is now what Mufti Saheb was once for us” says another woman, Ruby Begum.
In the last elections in 2014, 40,841 women voters were registered in Anantnag but only 15,243 women participated in the elections in which Mufti Muhammad Sayed won the seat. The bypoll was necessitated in Anantnag following the death of Chief Minister and PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on January 7. Mehbooba, 57, assumed the Chief Minister’s office on April 4.
In Anantnag, the women who are not too keen on voting are also certain about Mehbooba’s victory. “Though I am boycotting the elections, I am sure the PDP will win. We don’t get any benefit from any government. Despite having degrees, we have no jobs. The youth here are deprived of their rights, they face oppression every day” says Nazia Nazir, a private school teacher in Anantnag.
In Nazia’s family, there are mixed reactions to voting. Nazia’s cousin Insha admits that whatever development has taken place in Anantnag is because of former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed’s efforts.
“Even if we boycott, someone will still win. So it’s better to vote for Mehbooba as she is a woman. We hope she will do more for the uplift of women. The PDP has done some development in the district earlier as well,” Insha adds.
The PDP, which is only 16 years old, trounced its aging rival National Conference in the parliamentary elections of May 2014 and later in the Assembly elections in December that year.
Iqra Fayaz, a commerce student in Anantnag town, says Mehbooba being the first woman Chief Minister of the state is an inspiration for the girls. “She can do so much for the uplift of girls. She can provide them with opportunities they did not get earlier.”
However, Saima, another student from the district, remains firm on her decision to boycott the elections. “No one has done anything, all parties are the same. I will boycott the elections.”
In her campaign so far, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has focused on addressing small gatherings instead of big rallies and has promised to address day-to-day problems of the people once the election is over. She has been continuously asking people to give her a chance to finish her father’s agenda of development and progress in the district.