Why isn’t the BJP fielding a candidate in Indian-administered Kashmir?

Voters are going to the polls in Indian-administered Kashmir.

These are the first parliamentary elections since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s partial autonomy in 2019.

The prime minister says repealing Kashmir’s special status has helped integrate it with the rest of the country.

He also says it’s brought peace and development after decades of separatist violence.

Why then has Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) not nominated any candidates to contest the three seats in the Muslim-majority region?

Presenter:

Laura Kyle

Guests:

Noor Ahmad Baba – retired political science professor at the University of Kashmir

Sunil Sethi – chief spokesman for the BJP in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir

Radha Kumar – author and academic