Indian administered Kashmir I on Wednesday State elections Votes are being cast in the second phase today (Wednesday).
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi These are the first elections in the region since the Muslim-majority region’s semi-autonomous status was revoked in 2019 by its Hindu nationalist government.
Mehrajuddin Malik, a Srinagar voter, told the Associated Press (AP): ‘Our first and foremost issue is restoration of (the region’s) semi-autonomy and statehood. I am voting for this purpose because it is our fundamental right.’
52-year-old voter Abdul Rahim told the French news agency AFP: ‘Modi we do not love Kashmiris, he is against Muslims, look at the situation of Muslims in India, mosques are being demolished under his leadership. Muslims are threatened with death.’
Another voter said: ‘We wanted elections to be held here to give us some convenience. We want to have a representative to take our grievances forward. Our children are imprisoned and we are suffering. He abrogated Article 370. We have no representative who can question these moves.’
Malik Singh, a voter, told AFP: ‘This election is happening after ten years. Today the youth are voting. The younger generation is feeling that they want to make choices so that their demands can be met. After the abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir has become politically unstable. We are voting for stability today.’
The erstwhile state was divided into the territories of Delhi, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir by the Modi government. After this move, thousands of people were arrested, civil liberties and media were banned.
239 candidates are in the fray in six districts with a population of around 2.6 lakh. The Chief Electoral Officer of Kashmir said that the turnout till Wednesday afternoon was around 37 percent.
Decades later, Kashmiri separatists are not boycotting these elections, while some anti-India leaders are contesting as independent candidates for the first time.
India declared these elections a victory over separatism.
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Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party With the exception of , most of the parties contesting the elections have campaigned on promises to change the 2019 constitutional initiative and address key issues such as rising unemployment and inflation.
India’s main opposition Congress party, which is contesting these elections in alliance with the Kashmir National Conference, also supports restoring the region’s statehood.
On the other hand, the BJP, while defending these changes, has vowed to stop any such move.
Security has also been tightened in the run-up to the polls, with authorities setting up military posts and barbed wire in voting districts, while forces patrolling polling stations wearing bulletproof vests and carrying salt rifles.
The third phase of the elections will be held on October 1 and the counting of votes will be held on October 8, the results of which are expected on the same day.
Voting began on September 18 with a turnout of around 59% and no major untoward incidents were reported.
Foreign media access to polling stations is limited, while Indian authorities have denied most international media coverage, including the Associated Press, from covering the election without giving reasons.
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2024-09-25 21:14:13
