Indian-ruled Kashmir:- Voter turnout of just over 56% was reported Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir, the disputed, Indian-controlled territory holding its first legislative elections in ten years.

Two hundred thirty-nine candidates ran for 26 assembly constituencies in Wednesday’s voting, part two of the three-phase elections. More than 2.5 million adults were eligible to cast ballots.

The elections took place under tight security arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.

“The polls ended peacefully in all the six districts. However, some stray incidents like arguments et cetera occurred at a few places but there is no need for re-poll anywhere,” Pandurang Kondbarao Pole, J&K Chief Electoral Officer, told reporters in a press conference.

Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing its first elections since the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party revoked its limited autonomy in 2019, downgrading its status to that of a union territory.

Some locals see the elections as a battle between the BJP and the people of Kashmir, saying the government has systematically snatched away their rights over the last decade.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have boycotted elections ever since I became eligible to vote. Today I feel it’s necessary to cast a vote and send a message to New Delhi,” Ikhlaq Shah, a resident of Qamarwari, told VOA. “If we fail to act now, I believe the BJP government will impose its hazardous agenda against us.”

India, he said, is more interested in exploiting Jammu and Kashmir’s resources than caring for its people.

Shah expressed disappointment that regional political parties, particularly the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, are competing against each other in the elections despite sharing the common goal of throwing BJP out of J&K.

Muzamil Maqbool, a political analyst, told VOA that the parties have fragmented because their leaders are prioritizing personal interests.

“Most of these mainstream parties were once colleagues of each other in the past. Now they have sprouted and formed their own separated parties to fight under different names and banners,” Maqbool said.

The result, he predicted, is that none of them will win a majority in the J&K legislature.
“It’s too early to say, but J&K may see a large coalition formed to govern after the October 2024 elections,” he said.

Shameem Ahmad Baba, a resident of old Srinagar, said voters are confused about the parties, who are accusing each other of being hidden allies of the BJP.

“There is a mass confusion among the people about who supports us and who stands with the government, as so many candidates are running this time,” Baba told VOA. “I wish the regional political parties had agreed on seat-sharing, as this would have helped keep New Delhi’s influence at bay.”

Muzaffar Shah, vice president of the Awami National Conference, or ANC, said that if all regional parties worked together under the banner of the now-dissolved Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, PAGD, it would have strengthened the movement of the local population.

PAGD was a coalition of major parties created to press the demand that India revive J&K’s special status.

“PAGD was recognized almost throughout diaspora of Kashmir and throughout the world,” Shah said. “Unfortunately, political parties in the alliance, they gave much more weightage to their organizational matters and power politics than the interests of people of region. That fact unfortunately led to the breakup.”

Meanwhile, a 16-member delegation of foreign diplomats from countries like the U.S., Mexico, Singapore and Norway visited Kashmir at the invitation of the Indian government.

Former Chief Minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah, lashed out at the central government for inviting foreign diplomats to observe the elections.

“If these diplomats comment on J&K the Government of India immediately says it’s an internal matter and they don’t want outside interference. If that’s the case, why are they inviting them now?” Abdullah said.

The third phase of the J&K elections takes place October 1. VOA/SP