India holds local elections in IOK amid political boycott

A total of 26,629 village council heads will elect 310 out of 316 blocks, comprising of a group of villages in IOK

India holds local elections in occupied Kashmir, amid a boycott by several political parties as the draconian curfew remains, reported Al Jazeera.

Residents and politicians living in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) have criticised the timing of the elections, as the siege enters the 81st day.

Hundreds of leaders, including three former chief ministers remain in detention since August 5, when New Delhi stripped the autonomous status of the region.

A young Kashmiri politician Shehla Rashid quit politics earlier this month, adding that she did not want to ‘legitimise’ India's actions in the occupied region, by taking part in "sham electoral exercise".

A total of 26,629 village council heads will exercise their right to vote to elect 310 out of 316 blocks, comprising of a group of villages in IOK.

Other political parties - including National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party and Peoples Conference - have boycotted the elections, as they oppose the human rights violation in the region.

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Almost 60 per cent of the village council seats remain empty, while 1,065 candidates have been lodged in a hotel in the main city of Srinagar.

"This is really worth seeing how the democracy of India lives in hotels in Kashmir," said 30-year-old, Dilshad Ahmad. "This is a forced election, we don't know what they plan to do here."

Many village heads have moved to government-provided accommodations and hotels with their family members.

34-year-old Asiya is staying at a hotel in Khanyar with her three children. Her husband is a village head, living about 60 km away from their home.

"There is a lot of fear. Today, he has gone to his village for the first time after August 5 and I am worried about him," she said.

Another village head, who is contesting from Ichgam in central Kashmir, refused to comment about the situation in the region.

The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is contesting the elections and hopeful they will win.

“Till now, there has been no progress in the villages and now it is obvious we will take these villages towards more prosperity," Ashok Koul, BJP general secretary in Jammu and Kashmir said.

Former parliamentarian and senior Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir accused BJP of “destroying the region”.

"This election is for the BJP, by the BJP and of the BJP. They [BJP] are forcing themselves on people in Kashmir. There is no democratic way," he said.

Mir also said that the residents launched a "civil disobedience movement" shutting schools, shops and transport facilities.

"Had schools been open, public transport been plying and political workers free. We might have called it an election, but when there are no indicators of normalcy, how can you say that fair election is going on," he added.

Another resident Zubair Ahmad referred to the polls as "futile exercise".

"The government has installed these village heads and now they are making them move like puppets. None of these exercises have anything to do with common people as our voices have already been crushed," he said.

He also noted that the government is trying to paint a false picture of the situation in IOK.

"People are worried about their children who have been tortured and jailed. Literally, no one knows about these elections which the government is giving too much hype to show things are normal here," he said.