Indian administered Kashmir Polling continues on Tuesday for the final phase of state elections.
Elections 415 candidates are in the fray in the region’s seven districts during the third and final phase, while more than 3.9 million residents of the disputed region are eligible to vote.
These are the first elections since the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi in 2019 ended the semi-autonomy of the Muslim-majority region of Jammu and Kashmir through the abrogation of Article 370.
On Tuesday, thousands of armed forces personnel were deployed in polling districts and guarding more than 5,000 polling stations, where lines of voters were seen at all stations to cast their votes.
The region’s chief electoral office said a turnout of about 28 percent was recorded as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Hindu refugees who have migrated from Pakistan to Jammu are voting in state elections for the first time.
At a polling station in RS Pura area of Jammu, those refugees were seen queuing up in large numbers to cast their votes.
Vikram Chaudhry, a Pakistani Hindu refugee who voted, told the Associated Press: ‘This is a Diwali-like occasion for us. We feel free today.’
Similarly, 76-year-old Satpal Chaudhry said: ‘Our children will have a secure future and now they will play their part in local affairs.’
India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a strong political base in the Hindu-majority areas of Jammu, largely in favor of the 2019 changes, and the Hindu nationalist party has won several seats here in recent elections. But its position is weak in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, where the BJP has never won a single seat.
Modi’s party has fielded only 19 candidates for the 47 seats in the Valley, while it is contesting all the 43 seats in Jammu.
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The Modi government had divided the erstwhile state into Delhi-administered territories, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of people were arrested, civil liberties were curtailed and the media was banned.
Decades later, Kashmiri separatists are not boycotting these elections, while some anti-India leaders are contesting as independent candidates for the first time.
About 43 percent of the 503 candidates contesting the state elections in the Kashmir Valley are independents, compared to 35 percent of the 359 candidates in Jammu.
The state elections started on September 18. The overall turnout in the second phase last Wednesday (September 25) was around 55 percent and no untoward incident was reported in any of the phases.
The counting of votes will be done on October 8 and the results are expected to be announced on the same day.
With the exception of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, most of the parties contesting the 2019 election campaigned on promises to reverse the 2019 constitutional initiative and address key issues such as rising unemployment and inflation, according to AFP. is
Central opposition of India Congress The party also supports the restoration of statehood for the region, contesting these elections in alliance with the Kashmir National Conference.
On the other hand BJP has vowed to stop any such move while defending these changes.
Security measures have also been tightened ahead of the election, with authorities setting up military posts and barbed wire in voting districts, while forces patrolling polling stations wearing bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles. .
Foreign media has limited access to polling stations, while Indian authorities have denied most international media coverage, including the Associated Press, from covering the election without giving reasons.
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2024-10-01 11:44:39
