People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday congratulated the Congress-National Conference alliance for its victory in the Jammu Kashmir assembly polls. She also said that people of Jammu and Kashmir elected a stable government and consoled her party workers as PDP faced a bitter defeat.
"The people of Kashmir have many problems. For that it is necessary to form a strong government. I would like to tell PDP workers that there are ups and downs. Don't lose courage. I congratulate everyone. The alliance with BJP in 2014 is an old thing," she said.
Mufti said that the Congress-NC alliance will win more than 50 seats. She said that the Congress leadership reached out to her two days ago. "I told them that you will not need anyone's company," she added.
"People wanted a stable government and they felt that Congress and National Conference could give them a stable government and keep the BJP away. They voted for it and congratulations to the people," said the former J&K Chief Minister.
Counting of votes began at 8 am on Tuesday under a three-tier security system. The PDP could not open its account in the early trends and later remained limited to just five seats.
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Mehbooba's daughter Iltija Mufti who was contesting her debut polls conceded defeat early on as she trailed from the Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat. She lost the seat to NC's Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri with a vote margin of 9,770.
"I accept the verdict of the people. The love & affection I received from everyone in Bijbehara will always stay with me. Gratitude to my PDP workers who worked so hard throughout this campaign," Itlija wrote in a post on her X account.
Party candidates Mir Mohammad Fayaz and Waheed ur Rahman Para won the Kupwara and Pulwama seats, according to the Election Commission.