One more minister, Chhatra Pal Singh on Tuesday resigned from the Union Council of Ministers after being denied a ticket in the coming Lok Sabha elections by the BJP.
The resignation comes close on the heels of the BJP fielding former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh from Bulandshahr constituency, a seat which Chhatra Pal had represented four times in the Lok Sabha.
"Since the party has decided not to field me as a candidate for the coming election, it was my moral duty to resign. I have handed over my resignation to the Prime Minister", Chhatra Pal told PTI.
As a 'loyal BJP soldier', he would campaign for his party candidates, including Kalyan Singh, he added.
Chhatra Pal had defeated his nearest Congress rival by around 62,000 votes in the 1999 elections cornering 36 per cent of the votes polled.
On Monday, Minister of State for Shipping Dilip Gandhi had quit the Vajpayee government after being denied a ticket for the Ahmednagar constituency (in Maharashtra), which he represented in the dissolved Lok Sabha.