India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the main city in Himalayan Kashmir on Thursday to campaign for his party in the local election, the first such vote since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the "three families" of Jammu and Kashmir politics amid the ongoing assembly elections. In a veiled dig at the Abdullahs, the Muftis, and the Gandhis, PM Modi said that the three families used to snatch the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Three months after his worst election performance to date, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing another challenging vote: this time in the fragile region of Jammu and Kashmir, where separatist sentiment is strong and voters are angry with their loss of autonomy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top political opponent in India’s volatile Jammu and Kashmir region says restoring power in the hands of the people is a priority if his party wins local elections that begin this week.

PM Modi has pledged to restore statehood to J&K during an poll rally. He accused the Opposition of seeking to reinstate Article 370, which he claimed would lead to violence.

The Prime Minister announced that the train was coming to connect Kashmir and Delhi soon emphasizing that events like the G20 summit, car races, and Yoga Day reflect the spirit of Kashmiryat, which welcomes all. “For 35 years, Kashmir experienced 3,000 days of shutdown; now there are no shutdowns. Do you want to see violence return?” he asked.

In the upcoming years, the tourism sector is going to further expand in the valley, which will create a ripple effect for the overall economy of the state, he said.