Agencies
SRINAGAR, Jul 7: It is official; the Congress-led government in Jammu & Kashmir will fall.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad offered to resign apparently after failing to must the enough number to sail the government through a trust vote. Azad's announcement came on the floor of the house.
The chief minister is now on his way to the Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation. The state is headed for a brief spell of Governor's rule, where the polls are scheduled in October.
The vote of confidence came after the withdrawal of support to the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government by the People's Democratic Party last month, which has 17 members in the assembly, while as the Congress has 21 legislators.
The largest party in state assembly is the opposition National Conference with 24 members and the Panthers Party has four members. There are 16 independent MLA's in the House.
The withdrawal of support by the PDP pushed the coalition government into a minority, following which Governor N N Vohra fixed July 7 for the Azad-led government to seek a vote of confidence in the state legislative assembly.
The PDP withdrew support after days of protests and strike in Kashmir against the forest land allotment to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board by the state government.
Interestingly, Azad on Sunday evening inaugurated the new state legislature complex in Srinagar, where the assembly is scheduled to meet for the first time on Monday to decide his political future of Azad in the state.