The three-year-old Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government, wracked by bitter political feuds and worsening security challenges, collapsed on Tuesday with the BJP pulling out of its alliance with the PDP, setting the stage for yet another round of Governor's rule.

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav made the surprise announcement after the party high command summoned its J&K ministers for emergency consultations in New Delhi. A few hours later, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti submitted her resignation to Governor N N Vohra. "It has become untenable for the BJP to continue in the alliance government in the state," Madhav told the media at a press meet in the national capital. Presenting her point of view, Mehbooba said in Srinagar that the PDP has always maintained that a muscular security policy would not work in the state.