Modi campaigns in Kashmir after deadly attack

SRINAGAR, Dec 8 (AFP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi told voters Monday not to be intimidated against casting ballots in Indian Kashmir's state elections after a string of attacks, as he hit the campaign trail in the Muslim-majority region.

Modi's Hindu nationalist party is making an unprecedented bid for power in the troubled Himalayan region, where tensions are high following the killing of 11 soldiers and police in a series of assaults last Friday.

But speaking at an election rally in the south of the state, Modi said voters should not be scared off by the attacks which India blames on Pakistan-backed militant groups.

"Our soldiers have sacrificed their lives to safeguard democracy," he said at an election rally in the southern Jammu area of the state.

"You must ensure that their sacrifices are safeguarded. The power of your finger is greater than the power of an AK 47."

Modi was later due to travel north to the main city of Srinagar which was under virtual lockdown, with thousands of extra troops deployed.

He will first visit the army's headquarters in Srinagar and then address supporters from his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are confident of making an unlikely breakthrough in the state.

The BJP has traditionally had no base in the Kashmir Valley, where local resentment against Indian rule runs high.

But Modi's landslide win in national elections in May on a pledge to revive the economy, along with a meltdown in support for the Kashmir chief minister after deadly September floods, have lifted the BJP's hopes.

The party has been campaigning aggressively in the state, promising stability and development.

"Kashmir is economically sick and emotionally wounded," said Hina Bhat, one of the party's 32 candidates.

"The BJP wants to work for development first, the political issue of Kashmir comes later," said Bhat, referring to its longstanding pledge to scrap a constitutional provision known as Article 370, which allows Kashmir to make its own laws.

"People here want employment and a few hours of clear water supply, many don't understand what 370 is about," Hina told AFP.