India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the main city in Himalayan Kashmir to campaign for his party in the staggered local election in a first such vote since New Delhi stripped the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in 2019.

It has taken 77 years for Dev Raj to be able to vote in local elections in Indian-controlled Kashmir, and the Hindu elder is clear on who he will thank. Raj settled with around 5,700 Hindu families under Indian rule in Kashmir.

For decades, boycotting elections in Indian-controlled Kashmir was a sign of protest against Indian rule. That may change on Wednesday, when many residents of the Muslim-majority region say they’re willing to use their vote in a local election to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party the power to form an administration in the disputed region.