"BJP-PDP alliance ends in J&K: Mehbooba Mufti caught unawares as Centre seeks to tame militancy, restore order"

"One expected the Peoples Democratic Party -Bharatiya Janata Party coalition to give way by August, around the time the Amarnath Yatra ends (on 26 August). But the BJP has taken erstwhile chief minister Mehbooba Mufti by surprise, not giving her a chance to resign first, or recommend elections".

"Both possibilities would have helped her save some face in the political arena. As things stand, the PDP will face the negative impact of having remained in coalition with the BJP, despite friction. The alliance has been very unpopular in the Valley: And, so far, in other parts of the state too".

File image of outgoing Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti. AFP

"Now that the break has come much earlier than most observers expected, the threat to the Amarnath Yatra, which begins on 28 June, will increase. The Indian Army will be front and centre, with a likely free hand to take tough measures'.

"There will be a period of Governor’s Rule, perhaps an extended one. The Congress has stated firmly, through former state chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, that there is no question of joining hands with the PDP".