J&K Set For Polls As Governor Stops "Horrible" Claims To Power | Read

Jammu and Kashmir is headed to elections two years before term with Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolving the assembly on Wednesday evening, a controversial decision that critics say is open to legal challenge. The Governor acted swiftly after two alliances - one supported by the BJP - staked claim to power within minutes of each other. "There was no imminent reason to dissolve it before as "no one had come with a horrible proposition to form government," the Governor told NDTV this morning. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who had teamed up with her long-time political rival Omar Abdullah and the Congress for a shot at forming government, alleged that the Governor acted on the centre's orders to block her as the BJP tried to prop up People's Conference leader Sajad Lone and engineer defections.