Threat of violence sees Kashmir vote in small numbers

Kashmir elects only six members for the 543-member strong Parliament, but voting there will take place over several days due to security concerns.

A polling officer marks the finger of a Kashmiri woman with indelible ink inside a polling station in Bragpora, some 65 kilometers south of Srinagar. Kashmir elects only six members for the 543-member strong Parliament, but voting there will take place over several days due to security concerns.

Kashmiris stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station at Damhal Hanji Pora, some 85 kilometers south of Srinagar
Kashmiri women stand in a queue to cast their votes at a polling station at Damhal Hanji Pora, some 85 kilometers south of Srinagar
A Kashmiri woman casts her vote at a polling station in Bragpora, some 65 kilometers south of Srinagar. Militants determined to derail elections have carried out three deadly attacks on village elders in the last week to spread fear among the people

Kashmir's National Conference party leader Farooq Abdullah, shakes hand with his supporters at an election campaign rally in Chadoora, outskirts of Srinagar. India's multiphase voting runs until May 12, with results for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament expected on May 16, 2014
An elderly Kashmiri lady waits to cast her vote at a polling station in Khanabal area of Anantnag District. In a terrorist attack in Shopian in South Kashmir, an election official was killed and five others injured
Supporters listen to National Conference Party Leader Farooq Abdullah as he addresses an election rally in the village of Rawalpora in Budgam District some 55kms from Srinagar on April 15, 2014

Supporters of Kashmir's main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) shout slogans at a campaign rally addressed by party patron Mufty Mohammed Syeed (unseen) amid tight security
Policemen stand guard as Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) activists hold a rally against the ongoing general elections in Srinagar
A Paramilitary trooper stands guard near the vicinity of a gunfight between suspected militants and Indian troops in the outskirts of Srinagar on April 14, 2014. Militants have tried repeatedly to derail the ongoing elections by carrying out deadly attacks on village elders