India-occupied Kashmir (IoK) was voting on Tuesday in the third and final round of polls to elect its first government since the insurgency-wracked territory was brought under New Delhi’s direct control.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government cancelled IoK’s partial autonomy in 2019, a sudden decision accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communication blackout.
Since then the territory has not had an elected government and has been ruled instead by a federally appointed governor.
More than half a million Indian troops are stationed around IoK and Tuesday’s vote saw a heavy security presence, with rifle-toting soldiers seen guarding polling stations in Baramulla district.
A high unemployment rate and anger at the 2019 changes have animated campaigning, and local parties have promised to fight for the restoration of the region’s autonomy.
More than 55 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the first two rounds of the poll. Prior elections saw lower turnouts after boycotts called by Kashmiri fighters, who have waged a struggle for self-determination.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says the 2019 changes to the territory’s governance have delivered a new era of peace to IoK and rapid economic growth.
That is disputed by homegrown political parties in the territory, who say the accompanying security clampdown brought a drastic curtailment of civil liberties.
One part is the overwhelmingly Muslim Kashmir Valley. Another is the Hindu-majority Jammu district in the south, geographically divided from the rest of IoK by mountains.
While the BJP has fielded candidates in all the constituencies of Jammu, it is contesting only about a third of the seats elsewhere.
Regardless of the outcome, key decisions about IoK’s governance will remain in the hands of Delhi, where Modi’s government can use its parliamentary majority to override any legislation passed by the 90-seat assembly.
Results will be announced on October 8.
