AFP - A leading Kashmiri separatist broke ranks with his movement on Wednesday by contesting a seat in the revolt-hit Indian region, defying a long-standing policy of boycotting general elections.

Sajjad Gani Lone defended his decision to go where no anti-India leader has gone before, even though he has been denounced by some in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley as an opportunistic turncoat.

"I am doing the right thing for the people of Kashmir, for the people I represent. But now with this vote I can say I am a leader because of the people and not because of India, not because of Pakistan," he told reporters.

"Today this is the start of the evolution of true Kashmiri nationalist leadership," he said.

Separatist groups have called for a boycott of the polls, arguing that elections are a tool used by New Delhi to legitimise Indian rule over the hotly-disputed region.

But Lone has chosen to contest the Baramulla-Kupwara seat -- a constituency that has witnessed almost constant violence since an insurgency against India started in 1989.

The area is voting as part of the fifth and final round of India's general election which began in mid-April.

For much of the 1990s, Lone lived outside Kashmir and it was only after the 2002 assassination of his father -- Abdul Ghani Lone, a founder of Kashmir's main separatist alliance -- that he became seriously involved in the movement.

This movement, however, is bitterly divided -- and the struggle against Indian rule in Kashmir has claimed at least 47,000 lives over the past two decades.

There are pro-India parties who make cautious demands for greater autonomy, hardline pro-Pakistan groups, moderate politicians who hope Kashmir will one day be independent, and Taliban-style militants determined to keep up the fight.

"I am fed up of humiliation at the hands of India and Pakistan," Lone said, underscoring the view that Kashmiris have become pawns in the wider rivalry between the two South Asian rivals.

"Fighting elections is a change of strategy and not ideology."

Lone's decision to stand as a candidate highlights the fierce debate within the anti-India movement, with separatists torn between the bullet and the ballot box.

Ordinary Kashmiris are also sharply divided over whether to back a boycott, or seek change from within by backing Lone.

"He (Lone) is well-read. He will force India to resolve this dispute by taking it up in the parliament. I am hopeful," said Ghulam-u-Din Banday, a 72-year-old who chose to cast his vote.

Sara Begum, a 63-year-old local woman, said Kashmir needed a voice in New Delhi to "at least bring an end to human rights violations."

But Lone's detractors said he will not be able to deliver.

"He is alone. I doubt he'll win. Even if he does, he will never make an impact in the parliament," said bearded and spectacled Bashir Bhat, 48.

A local school teacher, Mushtaq Dar, described Lone as a "traitor."

"People must remember that whosoever joins the mainstream politics only wants to strengthen India's occupation of Kashmir," said Aasiya Andrabi, the head of a hardline women's separatist group, the Daughters of Faith.