Three months after his worst election performance to date, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing another challenging vote: this time in the fragile region of Jammu and Kashmir, where separatist sentiment is strong and voters are angry with their loss of autonomy.
Jammu and Kashmir will hold local elections in three phases starting Wednesday — the first such polls since Modi’s government stripped the region of its special status and brought it under federal control in 2019. Almost 9 million registered voters will choose candidates for 90 seats in the local assembly.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has promised to bring investments, jobs and tourism to the region, but that message isn’t resonating with voters, especially in Muslim-majority Kashmir. They want a return to the semi-autonomy they enjoyed as a state for more than seven decades, and the ability to control key functions like policing, health and finance — a key campaign pledge of regional parties who are seeking to keep the BJP out of office.
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