SRINAGAR: Indian-held Kashmir was brought under New Delhi's direct rule Friday after political rivals failed to agree on a power-sharing coalition, more than two weeks after elections in the country's only Muslim-majority state.

A federal government spokesman confirmed that President Pranab Mukherjee had placed Governor N. N. Vohra in charge of the state, the day after the acting chief minister stepped down.

“The president has approved the governor's rule for the state,” home ministry spokesman M.A Ganapathy told AFP after Vohra had made an official recommendation to Mukherjee.

The move comes more than two weeks after the December 23 announcement of results of the state elections which saw all parties fall way short of the 44 seats needed for an absolute majority.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, whose National Conference Party won only 15 seats after suffering an electoral meltdown, had stayed on as caretaker but he submitted his resignation to Vohra on Thursday.

The imposition of direct rule means local representatives will have no say in the running of Kashmir for the timebeing, a particular sensitive issue in a region where rebels have been fighting to secede from India since 1989.