Vijay Rupani becomes 4th BJP chief minister to quit top post in 6 months

New Delhi, Sep 11: Vijay Rupani became the fourth Chief Minister of a BJP-ruled state to quit top post, in six months.

"I have resigned as chief minister of Gujarat," Rupani told reporters after meeting Governor Acharya Devvrat and submitting his resignation letter. "I was allowed to serve the state for five years. I have contributed to the development of the state. I will further do whatever is asked by my party," Rupani said.

"In BJP, there has been a tradition that responsibilities of party workers change from time to time. I will be ready to take whatever responsibility that the party will give me in the future," Rupani said.

"I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a common worker like me this opportunity to serve the people of the state as chief minister," Rupani said.

The saffron party also replaced Lingayat stalwart B S Yediyurappa as Karnataka CM with another Lingayat leader B S Bommai.

In Uttarakhand, it replaced two Thakur chief ministers with another Thakur leader, and speculation was rife that Rupani, who comes from a numerically insignificant Jain community, may make way for a Patidar, the largest community in the western state.

Rupani (65) was sworn in as chief minister - his second stint as CM - in December 2017.

In July, BS Yediyurappa resigned as the Karnataka chief minister after weeks of uncertainty. In Uttharakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat quit barely four months after replacing Trivendra Rawat.

The development is crucial as the BJP is facing elections in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi' home state and Uttarakhand next year.