Mehbooba Mufti protests detention of PDP workers as voting begins in Anantnag

Amid the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections, People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti staged a protest in Anantnag, alleging that police have detained her party's polling agents and workers without cause. Mufti, contesting for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat against National Conference (NC) candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad and Apni Party's Zafar Iqbal Manhas, claimed that top officials, including the Director General of Police and the Lieutenant Governor, were involved in the detentions. She stated, "PDP workers are being locked up in police stations without any reason. DG, LG, all officials from top to bottom are involved in this. They have locked up PDP polling agents in police stations. You had said that there will be free and fair elections but you are doing all this. Complaints are being received from places where efforts are being made to tamper the machines (EVMs)."

Mufti had previously written to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking intervention over the alleged wrongful detention of her party members. She tweeted, "Many of our PDP polling agents & workers are being detained just before voting. When the families went to the police stations they are being told that it's being done at the behest of SSP Anantnag & DIG South Kashmir. We've written to @ECISVEEP hoping for their timely intervention." The ECI had revised the polling date for the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency from May 7 to May 25 due to logistical and communication challenges. This election marks the first general election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the first in Anantnag-Rajouri post-delimitation in 2022.