[2][3][4] After the following elections to the Parliament in 1989, which saw low turn-out,[5] Governor's Rule was declared in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, which lasted till 1996.

During the long years of imprisonment of Sheikh Abdullah, his loyalists split off from the National Conference party and formed a Plebiscite Front.

After Abdullah's release and his accord with Indira Gandhi, the Congress party accepted him as its own Head and elected him as the State's Chief Minister.

The Governor's Rule was lifted and Farooq returned to power in 1986, but with the understanding that Congress and the National Conference would ally for the 1987 election.

In the view of scholar Sten Widmalm, the State's two largest parties had formed an 'election cartel', which had the result that popular discontent could not be channelled.

[11] Before the election, 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.

[23] Journalist Balraj Puri states that the MUF emerged as the main alternative to the NC-Congress alliance in all parts of the Valley, except the four constituencies of the Kupwara district where People's Conference came in the second place.

[25] India Today reported that "starting about two weeks before the election, 600 opposition workers were arrested in areas where the MUF, independents, and PC [People's Conference] candidates were showing strength".

[28] Leader of the People's Conference party, Abdul Ghani Lone, complained that vote counting in the constituency of Handwara was tampered with by the deputy inspector-general of police, A.M. Watali.

Kashmir's High Court chose not to probe the allegations and the Election Commission was inactive at the time.

[27] Balraj Puri has noted three constituencies where the MUF lost narrowly: Bijbehara, Wachi, and Shopian.

The number of rejected votes in these constituencies was far higher than the margin of victory for the alliance, indicating that the vote-counting could have been easily manipulated.

In Anantnag, it was reported that the results were delayed for two and a half days while the polling station was surrounded by hundreds of policemen.

[25] BBC cited a Kashmiri politician Khem Lata Wakhloo,[a] as stating that there was widespread rigging in Kashmir.

– discuss] Governor Jagmohan is reported to have been appalled at what was being done, but he said that he was ordered by the central government in Delhi not to interfere.

[32] Abdul Ghani Lone became a separatist leader after the 1987 election and stated that many young people, out of frustration with the democratic process, decided to go for an armed struggle.

[35] On the other hand, an anonymous source in the Intelligence Bureau has advanced the estimate that the MUF may have lost approximately 13 seats due to electoral malpractice.

[37] Former Kashmir civil servant Wajahat Habibullah states that clear indications of malpractice were found in ten constituencies.