India-controlled Kashmir votes in the second phase of polls to elect local government

Associated Press

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir have begun casting votes in the second phase of a staggered election for a local government. for the first time in decades the election is not boycotted by separatists. It’s the first vote since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s semi-autonomy in 2019. Polls in the past have been marred by violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism. The election will allow Kashmir to have its own truncated government and a local legislature rather than being directly under New Delhi’s rule.