SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Voting in the final phase of the election to choose a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir began Tuesday, the first such vote since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.
Over 3.9 million residents were eligible to cast ballots to choose 40 lawmakers out of 415 candidates in the region’s seven districts during the third — and last — phase of the election.
Thousands of armed government forces patrolled the voting districts and guarded over 5,000 polling stations. Lines of voters stretched across the stations. The region’s chief electoral office said about 56% turnout was recorded by 1 p.m.
India’s unprecedented move in 2019 downgraded and divided the former state into two centrally governed union territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir. Both are ruled directly by New Delhi through its appointed administrators along unelected bureaucrats and security setup. The move — which largely resonated in India and among Modi supporters — was mostly opposed in Kashmir as an assault on its identity and autonomy.