Residents in India-controlled Kashmir vote in the second phase of polls surrounded by heavy security

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir have begun casting their votes in the second phase of a staggered election for a local government. About 2.6 million residents are eligible to elect 26 of the 239 candidates in six districts. Voters in the biggest regional main city of Srinagar queued outside polling booths early Wednesday. It is the first such election in a decade, and the first since India’s Hindu nationalist government scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s semi-autonomy in 2019. India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989.