Senior leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has quit the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) just ahead of the Bihar elections. His resignation came on Thursday as he is presently admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. He is being treated for health complications after being infected with the coronavirus.

The former Union Minister had been with RJD since its inception in 1997. He had earlier stepped down as the Vice president of RJD in June this year.

Singh has sent a letter to RJD chief Lalu Prasad announcing his resignation from the party.

Addressing Lalu, he wrote, "I kept standing behind you for 32 years after the demise of Karpuri Thakur, but not any longer."

Singh has sent this letter to journalists in Patna. Issuing an apology to the people he wrote, "Party, leaders, workers and people gave me lots of love. Regrets."

The RJD leader has been keeping mum over Singh's resignation, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal United are terming his decision as the "right" one.

JDU spokesman Ajay Alok said: "Singh is a senior leader, he should have taken this step long ago. The RJD has become an Acacia tree that's why people are running from it," he said.

Over a question over whether there was a possibility of Singh joining the JDU, he said, "Any party would welcome a big leader like him."

It must be recalled that Singh was angry over talks about former MP Rama Singh's entry into the RJD. Earlier, he had resigned from all party posts to register his dissent. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had met him in the hospital and tried to convince him but the efforts were futile.

His resignation is a big blow to RJD as the Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections are set to take place in October 2020.