Modi skips election in IIOJK as critics dispute integration claims

OCCUPIED ANANTNAG: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is criss-crossing India in a marathon election campaign but, for the first time since 1996, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not contesting in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), where a 35-year uprising against Indian rule has killed tens of thousands of people.

Instead, the main contenders for the three seats in the Muslim-majority region are powerful local parties, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

They will contest against each other but both say they are opposed to the Hindu nationalist BJP and will align with the Congress party-led opposition alliance.