From bijli, sadak, paani, to a vote for peace?

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It was the preferred phrase during the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. As voters' queues stretched on, men in phirans, enthusiastic women, and hopeful youngsters, talked about bijli, sadak, and paani. Television-savvy former chief ministers and chief ministers-to-be told news channels how votes were being polled for day-to-day issues. Basic needs were dictating the political ones. The result was an impressive turnout of 61.23 per cent, the highest Jammu and Kashmir has seen in the last 20 years of conflict. The elections were historical for much more. A record of 1,354 contestants, the lowest-ever violence in two decades and finally, a poll the people mildly trusted. An election full of surprises, more so since it closely followed the divisive Amarnath agitation. But will the Lok Sabha elections also swing a similar enthusiastic response in the state? Will these elections be a vote for peace, for....