The first of the eight-phase elections to elect the members of the District Development Councils begins amid tight security.
The first phase of local civic elections has opened in Indian-administered Kashmir amid tight security, the first elections in the disputed region since New Delhi revoked its special status last year.
Nearly six million voters in the 20 districts of the disputed region are eligible to elect 280 members of the District Development Councils in an eight-phase tiered process that began Saturday and ends on December 19.
Authorities deployed tens of thousands of additional troops to the already highly militarized region to protect the vote. Government forces put up barbed wire and erected steel barricades on the roads around many of the 2,146 polling stations established for the first phase.
The region’s pro-India parties recently formed a coalition, called the Gupkar Alliance, which has been campaigning to restore the region’s special status.
Many local candidates say that the police used the security concerns as “an excuse to harass them.”
“It has been very difficult from the day we completed the papers until now. The police surrounded us and forced us to move to a hotel 60 km from my constituency… It takes me two hours to travel to my constituency back to where I am supposed to be at night, ”said Rayees Ul Hassan, Alliance candidate Gupkar.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also fiercely campaigned for elections in the Muslim-majority region in a bid to replace the local pro-India Kashmir parties.
“The parties that have come together under the Gupkar Alliance are corrupt. Our party is doing justice. People have understood this and now they are following us, ”said BJP candidate Mohammad Ismail.
India says the ballot box is a vital grassroots exercise to boost development and address civic issues. Election Commissioner KK Sharma called on residents to cast their vote and “participate in the biggest festival of democracy.”
The elected members will not have legislative powers and will be solely responsible for the economic development and public welfare of the region.
Many Kashmiris said they were determined to make their voices heard at the polls.
“We had planned to boycott the elections, but after the Gupkar Alliance was formed, it forced us to rethink. We decided that we will cast our vote to keep the BJP at bay, ”said resident Ghulam Nabi.
In the past, separatist leaders and armed rebel groups challenging India’s sovereignty over Kashmir have called for a boycott of the elections, calling them an illegitimate exercise under military occupation.
The region’s pro-India parties had vigorously opposed Modi’s government after it revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status in August last year, annulled its separate constitution, divided the area into two federal territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir. , and removed inherited protections on earth. and jobs.
The Indian government imposed sweeping restrictions, ranging from curfews to communications cuts, and enacted new laws in measures that caused widespread anger and economic ruin.
Political analysts say the stakes are high for the federal government in this election.
“If you have significant voter turnout, it will show the international community that life has returned to normal here and that is what the Modi government wants to project outside of these elections,” said analyst Majid Hyderi.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, with rivals claiming the entire region. The rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989. Most Muslims in Kashmir support the rebel goal of having the territory united under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
New Delhi calls the Pakistani-sponsored Kashmir rebellion “terrorism.” Pakistan denies the charge, while most Kashmiris call it a fight for legitimate freedom.
Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have died in the conflict.
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