Elections before statehood in Jammu & Kashmir: Can a cart pull a horse?

The demand for restoration of statehood before elections is likely to have popular support both in Jammu and in the Kashmir Valley

The Centre gave no assurance on restoring the statehood of Jammu & Kashmir within a specific timeline when it met with the mainstream political parties from the Union Territory (UT). Delhi appeared to be keener on fresh delimitation of constituencies and elections within the UT framework. After the meeting, the National Conference demanded that statehood of J&K be restored before Assembly elections are held. The sequencing of the proposed delimitation, elections and statehood, it would seem, is the crux of restarting the democratic process in J&K.
 
Two questions provide clues to the Centre’s intent: Why is the delimitation process