India announces elections in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade

India has announced regional elections in Jammu-Kashmir after a gap of ten years. The polls will take place for the first time after Mr. Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister of India in 2014. His government had revoked Jammu-Kashmir’s special status in 2019.

Elections in India are held after every five years. The three-phased voting in the 90 constituencies of Jammu-Kashmir will conclude on 1 October and counting is set for 4 October. Around 8.7 million people, including 4.26 million women, will be exercising their right to vote, Rajiv Kumar Chief Election Commissioner of India informed.

While India thinks of Jammu-Kashmir as an integral part of India, international community, led by Pakistan’s stand think of it as a disputed region. Jammu-Kashmir had a special status in the Union of India since its inception, but after taking away this status, Narendra Modi government had split the state of more than 12 million people into two federally administered territories – of Ladakh; and Jammu and Kashmir.