Gujarat AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani resigns from legislative assembly

Ahmedabad: In a jolt to the AAP in Gujarat, party MLA Bhupendra Bhayani on Wednesday resigned as member of the state legislative assembly.

Bhayani, who represented Visavadar seat in Junagadh district, handed over his resignation to Gujarat assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary in Gandhinagar in the morning, an official said.

In his resignation letter, which was circulated on social media, Bhayani, who also goes by the name Bhupat Bhayani, said he is resigning as an MLA, but did not mention any reason behind the decision.

"The speaker has accepted Bhayani's resignation," Gujarat assembly secretary DM Patel said.

Bhayani was one of the five MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) elected in the last year's state polls, which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won with a thumping majority by bagging 156 seats in the 182-member assembly.

It was the first time that AAP won in the assembly polls in Gujarat.