Terrorists shot dead a local elected representative in the Qazigund area of Kashmir on Thursday morning. While confirming the incident, a police official said that the village level representative was a member of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Over the past month, terrorists have killed four BJP politicians in Kashmir. Last month, former BJP district president Waseem Bari, his father, and brother were killed inside their shop in the presence of 10 security officials made available to guard Bari.
Kashmir remains a stronghold of regional political parties like the People's Democratic Party and National Conference but during last year's election, where 98 percent of people participated, the BJP established a strong presence in the valley.
Data released by the Jammu and Kashmir police claimed that despite a spurt in terror incidents, law and order incidents fell from 370 per month to the current rate of 28 per month.
The Indian government has also claimed that since 5 August 2019, when the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked, recruitment of local youths to terrorist organisations has fallen by 42 percent (from 172 to 100).