Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday resigned as Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab after he failed to get elected to the Assembly within the stipulated time of six months from the day of appointment.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has received the resignation letter from Sukhbir, top official sources said in Chandigarh.
Sukhbir, son of Chief Minister Badal, took oath as deputy chief minister of Punjab on January 21, 2009, the first case of a father and son sharing the top two posts in a government.
The junior Badal is currently abroad, sources said adding that he is likely to return this week. Meanwhile, bypolls to three Assembly seats of Jalalabad, Kahnuwan and Banur are slated for August 3.
Sources said that Sukhbir is likely to contest from Jalalabad constituency, which fell vacant following the election of Sher Singh of Akali Dal to Lok Sabha.
The tally of ruling SAD-BJP alliance had come down from 11 to five in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Punjab, which has 13 seats.
Punjab's Information Minister and Sukhbir's brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majthia had resigned in early January paving the way for Sukhbir's induction into the cabinet. The move led to discontent in ally, BJP, as a section of the party wanted the post to go to its candidate.
State BJP unit chief president Rajinder Bhandari on Wednesday steered clear of the issue of staking claim for the post.
"The post of Deputy Chief Minsiter is a non-issue with the state BJP till today," he told reporters in Phagwara. Meanwhile, Raj Bhawan sources said that Punjab Governor S F Rodrigues has not yet received Sukhbir's resignation.
