Kashmiri Pandits vote in homecoming hope

New Delhi: Millions of Indians across 96 constituencies casted their ballots as the country’s gigantic, 6-weeklong election edges past its halfway mark. Monday’s polling in Phase 4 of election across 9 states and 1 Union Territory is pivotal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a 3rd straight term but facing the voters’ fury over unemployment and inflation. Meanwhile, 2 governments Odisha and Andhra Pradesh also voted to pick their next governments in simultaneous elections.

Meanwhile, displaced from their native soil, their homes, hearths and loved ones, many of whom perished in the face of militancy and cross-border terrorism; migrant Kashmiri Pandits residing in Jammu turned out in numbers outside polling booths on Monday, in the hope, perhaps, of a homecoming in the not-too-distant future.