Jammu and Kashmir election: The region goes to vote after a decade

On a bright September afternoon, a caravan of colourful cars, festooned with flags, arrives at a village in Indian-administered Kashmir for an election rally.

Iltija Mufti, a politician from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), slowly rises from the sunroof of one of the cars.

“Yeli ye Mufti (When Mufti will be in power),” she shouts at a crowd that has gathered to hear the third-generation leader of one of the most influential political dynasties of the region.

“Teli Tch’le Sakhti (Then the repression will end),” they respond in unison.

From a distance, army personnel in bulletproof jackets, armed with automatic rifles, stand watch, tracking every movement.

For the first time in a decade, elections are being held in 47 assembly seats of Kashmir, long marked by violence and unrest. The region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has been the cause of three wars between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Since the 1990s, an armed insurgency against Indian rule has claimed thousands of lives, including civilians and security forces.

The three-phase polls will also extend to the 43 seats in the neighbouring Hindu-majority Jammu region.

The election is the first since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy, stripped its statehood, and split it into two federally-administered territories. Since then, the region has been governed by a federal administrator.

In the fray are 13 main parties vying for a majority in the 90-seat assembly.

The major players are the two main regional parties – the PDP led by Mehbooba Mufti and the National Conference (NC) which is headed by Omar Abdullah. Both Mufti and Abdullah are former chief ministers of the region.

The NC has formed an alliance with India’s main opposition party Congress.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also contesting but not many are betting on the party, which has a stronghold in Jammu but a weak political base in the valley.

In the last elections in 2014, the BJP had formed a government in alliance with PDP after sweeping Jammu. The alliance fell apart in 2018 after years of disagreements.

Also in the picture, this time, is Engineer Rashid – a controversial politician who has spent five years in jail accused in a terror case and was released on bail this week. Rashid came to limelight earlier this year when he pulled off a stunning victory in the general election over Abdullah. He fought the election from jail, with his sons leading an emotional campaign on the ground.