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 a resolution of the conflict, or will the voters just warily watch from a distance? Will people seek more that just the bijli, sadak, paani this time?

The state polls saw a visible absence of political issues and Kashmir formulae for raking in votes. The People Democratic Party's Self-Rule was in cold storage. The National Conference shelved the autonomy agenda and the Congress stayed away from any political rhetoric over Kashmir. But in the Parliamentary elections, talks of resolving the Kashmir conflict and issues of regional divides could once again be vital.

The PDP, with its soft separatist agenda, is once again buzzing with its self-rule fromula, clearly eyeing more ground in Kashmir. The BJP will also press harder on the agenda of Jammu region to score a win in the Hindu-dominated belt. Both parties are also keen to undo the paradox of the state polls, where they emerged as the main gainers, but were still isolated in victory.

In the Assembly polls, the PDP, increased its tally from 16 to 21 seats. It also won from the Jammu region and increased its vote bank share by a staggering 18 per cent. Again, the party will hope to cash in on these indications of gain and up its tally of one LS seat in 2002. (Mehbooba Mufti had won from Anantnag)

Its closest rival, the National Conference (NC), maintained its seat tally of 28 in the Assembly polls. However, its worry has been the loss of eight per cent voters' share. The advantage the party has is a traditional base, and a history of record wins in Kashmir. The NC had won all three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley from 1977-1989 onwards. In 1996 it didn't contest the elections, in protest as its autonomy slogan was rejected by the Centre. In 2002, it won two seats including that of Omar Abdullah in Srinagar. An impressive record, which the party would like to keep up with. The National Conference will most likely strike an alliance with its ruling partners - the Congress - a move which voters in Kashmir have not taken well to in the past.

On the other side of the state, in Jammu region, the battle over two seats will mainly be between the Congress and the BJP. The former, a ruling alliance, but still reeling under the loss of substantial vote bank share in the Hindu-dominated belt, post-Amarnath agitation.

The BJP, meanwhile, has gained its voters' share by over 10 per cent along with 11 seats in the state Assembly. Its political isolation apart, it will heavily bank on the "Jammu agenda" and the " high" of the Assembly elections to strike a win.

And for the voters', it will be a tough task to match the enthusiasm they have shown in the 2008 Assembly polls. Also, in Kashmir, the Hurriyat's boycott failed last time, and will, perhaps, not fail so miserably once again. The bijli, sadak, paani aren't as relevant for the voters this time. These elections are likely to be their political statement. Either they are with it or against it.