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.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, residents are voting in elections that some hope will lead to restoration of the territory's statehood, which ended when it became a federally governed territory in 2019.

Security was tight on Wednesday as a phased election for choosing a local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir opened in the first such vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.