In the absence of such rigging, commentators believe that it could have won fifteen to twenty seats,[6] a contention admitted by the National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
[10] MUF's election manifesto stressed the need to solve all outstanding issues according to the Simla Agreement, work for Islamic unity and against political interference from the centre.
[13][full citation needed][14] The movement's grassroots campaign was said to be 'enthusiastically energetic', attracting youth activists who had been born in the 1960s.
[15] The 1987 election witnessed the highest record of voters participation, with eighty per cent of the people in the Valley having voted.
[21] 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.
[10] According to Maulana Abbas Ansari, a member of the Muslim United Front, the youth would have not picked up the gun nor have known of Nehru's promise of a plebiscite to the people of Kashmir had the election not been rigged.