NEW DELHI, March 8: Indian President K.R. Narayanan approved on Friday the imposition of federal rule in Uttar Pradesh as no political party has been able to form a government.

The Indian cabinet decided on Thursday to recommend federal rule in Uttar Pradesh after considering a report from the governor of the northern state.

“The president has approved imposition of federal rule in Uttar Pradesh,” an official spokesman said.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri told the president on Wednesday that federal rule should be imposed as no single political party or coalition could provide a stable government in the country’s most populous state. The move must be approved by both houses of parliament within 60 days.

Shastri made the recommendation after elections last month in which the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which heads the ruling federal coalition government, lost control of the state.

The BJP and its allies won 107 seats while the populist regional Samajwadi Party emerged as the single largest party with 147 seats in the 404-member assembly. The Bahujan Samaj Party won 98 seats and the Congress Party 25. The rest were won by smaller parties and independents.—Reuters