Kashmir holds its first regional elections since India gave up its special status

Issued on: 22.09.2024 – 12:04

2 minutes

The staggered voting to elect the 90 members of the regional parliament began on September 18 and is scheduled to be completed on October 1.

According to official figures, more than 61 percent of the 2.6 million registered voters – tens of thousands of people – cast their votes in the first 24 constituencies on Wednesday.

In the remaining 66 constituencies, elections will be held on September 25 and October 1, with results expected a week later, according to the Indian Election Commission.

Thirteen political parties are vying for a majority in the Indian-controlled territory, which is divided into the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated Jammu district, a stronghold of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Pakistan claims the entire extended region of Kashmir and has been the scene of two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since 1947.

After a decade of unrest and direct rule, elections were due in Indian Kashmir

Striving for autonomy

The parliamentary election is the first since 2014 and since the Delhi government stripped Kashmir of its autonomy in 2019.

The high turnout surprised analysts, as previous elections in the area had already been affected by attacks and boycotts by separatists.

Observers say calls for the restoration of full statehood have eclipsed previous calls for independence.

“People will talk about the mismanagement and humiliation that the BJP has inflicted on the people of Kashmir – the only state that has been carved up and reduced to union territories,” said Salman Soz, a spokesman for the main opposition Indian National Congress.

Three years after the abolition of Kashmir’s special status, the picture is mixed

Buoyed by its better-than-expected performance in national elections earlier this year, Congress is trying to gain support for Kashmir's former autonomous status.

“Restoring Kashmir's statehood is our first step. We will put pressure on the BJP to meet our demand,” said its leader Rahul Gandhi, a scion of the charismatic Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that once ruled Kashmir.

Delhi's promise

Prime Minister Modi is confident that his government will accommodate Kashmir’s aspirations.

“The BJP government will also be the one to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir,” Modi said during a visit to the territory on September 14.

“I guarantee to protect your rights,” he added, promising to transform Kashmir into a “terror-free and tourist-friendly” region.

The scenic valley attracted more than 2.7 million visitors in 2023 and early figures suggest it is on track to beat that record this year.

But Ifra Jan, a spokeswoman for the regional opposition National Conference, believes the BJP is “stifling” tourism in Kashmir.

The party is aligned with the Congress Party in the fight against Modi's Hindu nationalist government and remains skeptical of promises to restore autonomy.

“Delhi has never trusted whoever is in power here… They have always tried to dominate power,” conference leader Farooq Abdullah told NDTV before the elections.

“This factor was responsible for the state’s tragedies.”

Issues such as unemployment and development also dominated the political campaign. According to government figures from July 2023, the youth unemployment rate in the area is 18.3 percent, more than twice the national average.