From September 18th, India will carry important regional elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which is a disputed region.
These surveys are the first in nearly ten years and the first since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration removed the country’s unique position in 2019.
The 90 districts ‘ three-phased election will end on October 1 and counting will begin on October 4.
Some 8.7 million people, including 4.26 million people, may become eligible to vote, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said.
Assembly elections typically take place after five years, but democratic doubt had slowed down the process.
Elections are scheduled to take place in Jammu and Kashmir after a long absence, Mr. Kumar stated at a press event in Delhi on Friday.
He added that Kashmir had voted” for poll over gun”- as the place had witnessed a traditional voter participation of 58.46 % in the recently-held legislative elections, a 30-point leap in voter turnout from the 2019 general election.
The commission later stated on X ( previously Twitter ) that the long lines of voters during the general elections were” a testament to the will and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in writing their own destiny.”
Friday’s news comes just weeks after India’s Supreme Court upheld the state decision to scrap the amendment’s Content 370, which gave the place significant freedom. Additionally, the judge mandated that council votes be held by September 30.
The state had likewise divided the state of more than 12 million people into Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, two of which were under the federal government’s control, in addition to removing Kashmir’s unique status.
The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) under Mr. Modi’s leadership made the decision very unpopular in the state. The revocation was one of its poll promises in 2019.
The prime minister made his first appearance in the region since 2019 in March, telling reporters he was “working hard to win your souls.” He also announced projects worth 64bn rupees ($ 774m, £607m ) to support local agriculture and tourism.
However, local politicians and experts claim that the BJP’s rage is still present.
After India and Pakistan’s independence from Britain in 1947, the Alpine place split. Both the two nuclear-armed countries have fought two wars and had a brief fight over the place in the decades that have followed.
Tens of thousands of lives have been lost due to an armed rebellion against Delhi’s law in the Indian-administered area since 1989, and there is a significant military presence there.
Delhi accuses Islamabad of stifling harmony in the area and harboring insurgents, a command Pakistan refutes.
Kashmir continues to be dogged by incidents of violence. A recent spurt in militant activity – which seems to have shifted from the Kashmir valley to the relatively calmer Jammu region – is a particular cause for concern.
In June, nine Hindu pilgrims were killed and dozens injured after militants opened fire on a bus in Reasi – where the bridge is located – in one of the deadliest militant attacks in recent years. There have been several other attacks on the army and civilians.