ground-report

The transformation is reflective of wider changes across Kashmir. From Lal Chowk to Downtown Srinagar, residents speak of a newfound sense of normalcy and progress.

The current assembly elections, the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, have rekindled a glimmer of hope among the approximately 350,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandits. Many are cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a comprehensive settlement package that could pave the way for their return to the Valley.

Kaman Post, once a fortress against invasion, now stands as an invitation - to remember, to heal, and perhaps, one day, to truly bridge the divide that has for too long separated two nations with a shared history and, potentially, a shared future.

Sabotage or accident? While the ruling party leaders accused the opposition of instigating arson to gut sensitive files, the YSRCP alleged that the administration was trying to divert public attention from its poor governance record.

A statewide protest against Rajkot candidate Rupala due to his remark about the Kshatriya community in Rajkot failed to deter his chances. Throughout the protest, Kshatriyas held the slogan ‘Modi tujhse bair nahi, Rupala teri kher nahi.’

Union Minister Arjun Munda, ST Morcha chief Samir Oroan, Sita Soren, Tala Marandi, Geeta Kora face defeat.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur registers fifth consecutive win in Lok Sabha polls from the Hamirpur Parliamentary constituency.

After Lata Thakur, who had won the Assembly election on a Congress ticket in 1972 and had later died in 1976 in a road accident, no party fielded a woman candidate in the Assembly polls all these years.

Naidu's latest electoral triumph, where his Telugu Desam Party was ahead in 133 of the 175 seats as per the latest figures, comes months after his arrest in an alleged corruption case. In the outgoing House, TDP has 23 members.

Huge voting numbers were witnessed in Maoist-ravaged areas for the first time in decades.

National Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi held a roadshow in Solan and later paid obeisance at Jakhu temple in Shimla, while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed poll rallies in Hamirpur and Mandi. 

A triangular contest awaits the by-poll in the tribal Lahaul & Spiti Assembly segment in Himachal Pradesh, where a woman nominee is challenging the male bastion after a gap of 52 years.