Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 1987

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23 March 1987

1996 →

all 76 seats in Legislative Assembly
39 seats needed for a majority

Turnout

74.9%

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Farooq Abdullah
Party	JKN	INC	Muslim United Front
Leader since			Syed Ali Shah Geelani
Last election	46
Seats won	40	26	4
Seat change	6	26

	Fourth party

Party	BJP
Last election	0	4
Seats won	2	3
Seat change	2

Chief Minister before election

Farooq Abdullah
JKN

Elected Chief Minister

Farooq Abdullah
JKN

Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held on 23 March 1987. Farooq Abdullah was reappointed as the Chief Minister.

The election is widely believed to be rigged. This led to Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir post that elections and Exodus of lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits. Later, Indian general election, 1989 saw less than 10 percent voting in Kashmir valley. According to official figures, the polling stood at marginal 5 percent in Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha segments. Thereafter,President rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir from 1990 to 1996. 1987 election in a way was a watershed in the politics of the Jammu and Kashmir state.

Four months after the assumption of power by Dr. Farooq Abdullah, fresh elections were held for the State Assembly on 23 March 1987 which were contested by the Congress-I and the NC, in coalition. Before the elections, various anti-establishment groups including Jamaat-e-Islami joined hands to form a Muslim United Front (MUF) mainly pointing out that the NC had capitulated before the Centre for the sake of power and bartered away the special status of the State. Efforts were made to arouse Muslim sentiments along communal lines. MUF's election manifesto stressed the need for a solution to all outstanding issues according to Simla Agreement, work for Islamic unity and against political interference from the centre. Their slogan was wanting the law of the Quran in the Assembly.

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