The man who wants 900 million votes

On a cold night in February, residents of the battle-weary city of Srinagar woke up to the noise of fighter jets buzzing in the inky black skies.

War, many feared, was now just a shot away.

Residents of the city in Indian-administered Kashmir had begun stocking up on food. Petrol pumps had run dry. Hospital doctors were told to stockpile medicines. Anxious residents talked about building bunkers in their gardens. A prominent politician rued that he had bought a house near the airport, which now didn’t seem like a “good idea”.

Within days, Indian Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft were crossing deep into Pakistan.