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

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.

With fresh faces emerging to challenge the traditional political powerhouses, the region’s political dynamics already appear to be changing.