Is there any way of getting interactive tooltips in a matplotlib plot? For instance, I wanted to get this scatter plot with hovering tooltips (http://mpld3.github.io/examples/scatter_tooltip.html) functionality in my python application, because they are really useful for visualizations. Unfortunately, I do not want to show this in a browser, but integrated in my own python application, is there any way to do this?
Matplotlib can only create static images and animations. If you want something interactive, then the only way you're going to achieve this is by using a module that outputs javascript. I would suggest reading about bokeh.
It is well developed and gaining a lot of traction in the python world as being a good option for creating interactive plots. Here's an example of bokeh's hovertool capability.
Unfortunately, I do not want to show this in a browser, but integrated in my own python application
I'm not sure what your "own python application" is but you're not going to have a fun time making an interactive plot outside of a browser. I would highly suggest going a webapp route using bokeh if interactivity is truly important to you.