Suspected separatist militants shot dead a local leader from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party in disputed Kashmir ahead of the latest round of India's marathon election, police said Sunday.
The killing in Anantnag district of India's only Muslim-majority state is the latest in a string of attacks that have marred India's staggered election which began last month.
The militants opened fire on Gul Mohammad Mir, 65, who headed a local unit of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), at his house in south Kashmir on Saturday night.
Police said a polling station to be used in the district on Monday was set ablaze in the nearby Shopian area.