Jammu and Kashmir Governor dissolves assembly as Mehbooba stakes claim to form government with NC, Congress

As both PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Sajad Lone staked claim to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the Legislative Assembly in the evening.

Minutes before, former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti wrote on Twitter that after deciding to form an alliance with the Congress and National Conference (NC), when the three parties tried to send a letter to the Governor to stake claim to form the government, the letter was not received at the Raj Bhawan.

Calling it "strange", the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) posted the letter on Twitter, tagging the Twitter handle of J&K Governor and asking him to take note.

She wrote: "Have been trying to send this letter to Rajbhavan. Strangely the fax is not received. Tried to contact HE Governor on phone. Not available. Hope you see it @jandkgovernor"

In another tweet, she added, "Sending the letter also by mail."

Mufti, whose party has 29 MLAs, has written to Governor S P Malik claiming support of 15 MLAs of NC and 12 of Congress in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly.

Earlier, when asked by India Today TV about the letter, Mufti said, "We are faxing a letter for the Governor along with the support of other two parties right now. We will see what happens next."

On another note, she added that her party will be leading the three-party alliance in Jammu and Kashmir that has been put under the Governor's rule for the past five months ever since Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out of an alliance with the PDP.