SRINAGAR: A day before parliamentary elections in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), India’s main opposition party, Congress, has promised to restore statehood to the region, Indian media reported.
The three-phase elections, starting tomorrow (Wednesday), mark the first regional assembly polls in IIOJK in a decade. These are the first elections since New Delhi revoked the semi-autonomous status of the disputed region and imposed direct rule in 2019. Approximately 8.7 million voters are eligible to participate.
IIOJK has been heavily militarized for decades, with around 500,000 Indian troops deployed in the region. The area has experienced a persistent cycle of curfews, crackdowns, and civilian casualties as local parties and freedom fighters seek the right to self-determination as outlined by UN resolutions.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera launched a critique against the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to IIOJK. Khera criticized the move as a revocation of the region’s rights, reducing it to a Union Territory and stripping it of its statehood.
Khera, speaking on behalf of Congress, which is contesting the elections in alliance with the National Conference (NC), vowed to restore the rights of IIOJK. He accused Modi of imposing tyrannical policies in the region following the abrogation of Article 370.
In response, Union Minister Amit Shah supported Modi’s stance, asserting that Article 370 is now part of history and cannot be reinstated.
Prior to 2019, IIOJK’s special semi-autonomous status allowed only residents who descended from the region’s 1934 inhabitants to vote and own property. The Modi government’s move to abolish these rules aimed to alter the region’s demographics by encouraging the settlement of Hindu migrants.
Following the abrogation, a series of petitions challenged the move. In December 2023, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that Article 370 was a temporary provision and affirmed that IIOJK remains an integral part of India.
