Anantnag By-polls which were conducted because of the then CM Mufti Muhammad's death on Jan 7, have yielded a result in favour of the ruling party. Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti today won the Anantnag by-polls by over 12,000 votes. She defeated Congress's Hilal Shah in the by-polls with a victory margin of 12,085 votes. The polls were also mandatory for her to enter the state legislature to continue as the Chief Minister. Mehbooba was congratulated by the Prime minister who tweeted, "Congratulations to J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti for the phenomenal victory in the Anantnag assembly by-election".