Kashmir elections 2024: Who’s in the fray and what’s at stake?

These are the first regional elections in Kashmir since New Delhi stripped it of its semi-autonomous status in 2019.

Indian-administered Kashmir – Kashmiris are set to vote to elect a local government for the first time in a decade, five years after India’s Hindu nationalist government suspended the state legislature and brought the Muslim-majority region under New Delhi’s direct rule.

The elections come weeks after New Delhi expanded the powers of its hand-picked administrator in the region, drawing criticism from mainstream Kashmiri parties as well as India’s main opposition Congress party. They say the government step has “disempowered” the region’s legislature.

Kashmir has been at the heart of a rivalry for 77 years between India and Pakistan, both of which govern part of the Himalayan territory but claim it in its entirety.

So how significant are the local elections and will they help resolve the region’s issues — ranging from high unemployment to deep-rooted grievances over political and human rights?

The state elections – the first in 10 years – are scheduled to be held in three phases starting on September 18.

The second and third phases of voting will be held on September 25 and October 1 respectively. The results will be announced on October 8.

The elections are being conducted after India’s Supreme Court ordered that the region be allowed to vote for its representatives, in a judgement last December.

Nine million Kashmiris are registered to vote in a region that has traditionally been known for boycotts to protest against Indian rule.

But in the parliamentary elections held earlier this year, Kashmiris came out in large numbers to cast what analysts described as a “protest vote” against India’s decision to