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 a first such vote since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in 2019.

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

Once a powerful force in the region, separatist movement Jamaat-e-Islami’s surprise return to electoral politics after decades of boycotting elections in Kashmir has surprised many. Maroosha Muzaffar