Vijay Rupani resigned as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Saturday evening.
"I have resigned as chief minister of Gujarat," Rupani told reporters after meeting Governor Acharya Devvrat and submitting his resignation letter.
"I was given the opportunity to serve the state for five years. I will further do whatever is asked by my party. 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.
Rupani along with state BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, Union ministers Purshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya, and state cabinet colleagues deputy CM Nitin Patel, Bhupndrasinh Chudasama, and Pradeepsinh Jadeja met the governor and submitted their resignations.
Rupani's resignation comes a year before the state heads to the polls in December 2022 to elect 182 members of the Gujarat Assembly.
He also becomes the third Chief Minister from BJP to step down in 2021, after Karnataka's BS Yediyurappa and Uttarakhand's Tirath Singh Rawat tendered their resignations.
Asked about reasons for his resignation, Rupani said, "In BJP, it is like a relay race for party workers. One gives the baton to the other."
On who will be the next chief minister, Rupani said that the party will decide about it.
He denied that he had any differences with state BJP president C R Paatil.
Rupani comes from the Jain community which has around two per cent population in the state.
There is speculation that his successor may be from the patidar community.
He first became the chief minister on August 7, 2016, following the resignation of incumbent Anandiben Patel, and continued in the office after the BJP's victory in the 2017 Assembly elections.
Rupani, who completed five years in office on August 7 this year, was present at the inauguration on Saturday of Sardardham Bhavan where Modi was present virtually.
(With PTI inputs)