SRINAGAR, INDIA -- 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.

Modi's visit to Srinagar city in the Kashmir Valley, the epicenter of decades of anti-India unrest, occurs amidst strong public opposition to New Delhi's changes enacted five years ago. These changes revoked the region's semi-autonomous status, annulled its distinct constitution, downgraded and divided the former state into two centrally governed territories — Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir — and eliminated inherited protections on land and employment.

Authorities implemented security measures, including razor wire barriers and road checkpoints, to restrict access to the venue of Modi's election rally in Srinagar's primary commercial center. Armed paramilitary troops and police in protective gear patrolled the area, while snipers and sharpshooters were strategically positioned on buildings near the event.

“We have declared in parliament our commitment to restore the region's statehood. Only BJP will fulfill this promise,” Modi declared to a cheering crowd at the rally, referring to his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Since 1947, Kashmir has been a focal point of conflict between India and Pakistan following the end of British rule in the subcontinent, which led to the formation of these two rival nations. Both nations control portions of the region but lay claim to the entirety of the territory.

Armed groups in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir have been challenging New Delhi's rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ aim of unifying the territory, either under Pakistani control or as a separate nation.

India asserts that the insurgency is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, a claim Islamabad denies. Thousands of people have lost their lives in the conflict, which many Kashmiri Muslims view as a legitimate struggle for independence.

Thursday’s visit was Modi’s second trip to the Muslim-majority region to campaign for his party's candidates in the ongoing election. Voting began on Wednesday, with a high turnout in the first phase.

The vote is the first in a decade, and the first since his Hindu nationalist government’s 2019 action. Kashmir’s pro-India political parties have pledged to oppose these changes.

Last week, Modi addressed a similar gathering in the southern Doda district.

The remaining stages of the voting are scheduled for September 25 and October 1. This staggered approach is due to logistical considerations and to allow troops to move freely to prevent potential unrest in the Himalayan region. Vote counting will take place on October 8, with results anticipated on the same day.