Lucknow, Aug 10 (IANS): Senior Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Ambika Chowdhary on Wednesday resigned from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. He handed over his resignation to Council's Principal Secretary Mohan Singh Yadav.

A minister in successive Samajwadi party (SP) governments in the state, Chowdhary had quit the party when the feud between Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav was at its peak and had joined the BSP just before the state assembly elections.

He had then announced that he was forced to quit the SP as he was not able to see the humiliation being heaped on Mulayam and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav. He contested the assembly polls on a BSP ticket but lost.

Chowdhary, however, said that he would not be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and clarified that he belonged to the BSP and would not ditch Mayawati. He also said that he was quitting as he was an MLC on an SP ticket and had joined the BSP later.

"I should have resigned earlier but I am doing so now for the same reason," he added. Senior SP leader Ashok Bajpayi also quit the upper House earlier in the day.