The first phase of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, held on September 18, witnessed a remarkable voter turnout of approximately 58.85%

Voters queued outside polling stations in India's Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to vote in the first provincial election being held in a decade in the Himalayan region that has grappled with years of militant violence.

A phased election for choosing a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir has opened in the first such vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.

The first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections kicked off on Monday, with an initial voter turnout of 11.11% recorded by 9 a.m.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the main city in Himalayan Kashmir to campaign for his party in the staggered local election in the first such vote since New Delhi stripped the disput

With fresh faces emerging to challenge the traditional political powerhouses, the region’s political dynamics already appear to be changing.

It is the first such vote since India's government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, residents are voting in elections that some hope will lead to restoration of the territory's statehood, which ended when it became a federally governed territory in 2019.