Kashmiris reject Modi's claims over record turnout

PM insists high voter numbers vindicate controversial BJP policies but locals say opposite

- Maroosha Muzaffar

Kashmir has witnessed unexpectedly high voter turnout for the ongoing Indian national election, splitting opinion on what it might mean for the conflict-ravaged Himalayan region.

While Narendra Modi’s government is portraying it as an expression of public support for its Kashmir policy, Kashmiri voters, politicians and analysts see it as an assertion of identity and local interests by people who have repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of New Delhi’s rule in the restive region.

In Monday’s voting, the fifth of seven phases in this marathon general election, Baramulla in north Kashmir recorded its highest voter turnout ever, with a constituency that has been notorious for separatist militant activity beating the turnout figures for heartland states of Bihar and Maharashtra.

Nearly 59 per cent of registered voters turned out in Baramulla, almost 20 per cent more than in the previous parliamentary election five years ago. Voter participation was lower in the main Kashmiri city of Srinagar when it voted on 13 May, but that turnout of 38 per cent was still the highest since 1996, and almost triple the 13 per cent who voted in 2019.

Many Kashmiri Muslims have shunned national elections in the past, with some viewing them as an exercise in legitimising a federal government which they oppose. Separatist leaders and organisations in the region routinely call for boycotts of elections.

After polling closed in Baramulla, Mr Modi portrayed the high turnout as the return of normalcy to restive Kashmir.