The election announcement came a few weeks before the PM announced the ceasefire. Had Farooq Abdullah postponed them, these very people would have criticised him for not standing by what he had promised. The elections reflect the desire of the state's people for a panchayati government. It has been made apparent by the percentage of turnout. There is scepticism about the percentage of turnout.
People question a lot of things.
These are people who don't know him, who don't see the sleepless nights he spends or the frustration he faces, the umbrella of security over his family or the fact of his grandchildren go to school with gun-toting security men. If the price we have to pay for peace is the irrelevance of the National Conference, we are ready to pay it many times over. I am who I am. I am also a Muslim. I can't do anything to change that, nor do I want to.