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.

When former Kashmiri independence advocate Hafiz Mohammad Sikander Malik filed nomination papers for the Jammu and Kashmir's election starting Wednesday, the first poll since India revoked the region's semi-autonomy,