New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi bete noire Sanjay Joshi on Friday resigned as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in charge of Uttar Pradesh from the party citing pressure from Modi. Party President Nitin Gadkari accepted Joshi's resignation.
Joshi, however, has retained the primary membership of the party.
Senior BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar confirmed that Joshi has quit from the party and BJP President Nitin Gadkari has accepted his resignation. "Sanjay Joshi has requested Nitin Gadkari to relieve him from the party. His request has been accepted," Prakash Javadekar said on Friday.
Despite persistent queries by reporters, Javdekar declined to go into the reasons for Joshi's resignations.
The resignation has come two weeks after Joshi, who was on deputation to the party from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had quit as a special invitee to the party's national executive on May 24.
BJP is the main opposition party in India.