India's governing BJP says it is pushing ahead with a plan to tear up the schedule of state elections and make everyone vote at the same time once every five years. Opponents tell Namita Singh the mea

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.

It is the first such vote since India's government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.

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.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir. Speaking at an election campaign rally in Katra in the Reasi district, he also accused the Opposition of trying to bring back bloodshed in Kashmir by reversing the abrogation of Article 370.