KN DESK; 20, April 2013: Former chief minister and head of the Peoples Democratic Party Mufti Mohammed Sayeed met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday in New Delhi and impressed upon him the need for free and fair elections in the state saying that this could not be achieved during 2008, a statement released by the PDP here on Friday said.

This reaching out to the Congress is being seen as a well-planned move by political observers in the Valley. "Omar's government is bruised with charges of corruption, highhandedness and inaccessibility," a teacher in the political science department of Kashmir University said on conditions of anonymity. "The PDP could potentially gain from the present situation."

"While (former Prime Minister) Atal Behari Vajpayee had ensured that his commitment to hold free and fair elections in 2002 was fulfilled, the same could unfortunately not be said about the 2008 elections when manipulations in many constituencies affected the results and clouded the credibility of the electoral process once again," the PDP statement quoting Sayeed said.

Sayeed alleged that the 'managed results' in those elections had had an adverse impact and ever since the present government took office, all the investment in peace and development in the state made by Singh himself had almost evaporated.

He urged the PM to ensure free and fair elections, whenever these are held, as a primary requisite for taking forward the peace process as restoration of faith in democratic institutions was essential for any initiatives on internal front to succeed.

Sayeed said it was important to ensure a full-fledged and multi-tier democratic system in place in the state from the village to state level to empower the people in shaping their destinies.