The faction-ridden state unit of BJP received another jolt on Wednesday as state president Satyabrata Mukherjee tendered his resignation citing old age as a reason. According to party sources, it was the pressure of the central leadership which held Mukherjee responsible for the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls that propelled the leader to resign.

“I have heard that he has resigned under pressure from the central leadership. There are just two months left for the election of the new president and now it is for the central leadership to decide who will be the interim president,” Tapan Sikdar, a former Union minister who also happened to be a former state unit president, told The Indian Express.

Mukherjee, 76, who is another former Union minister became president just a year ago. In fact, the leader from Krishnagar became a casualty in the fierce faction feud between the group led by him and another led by state unit general secretary Rahul Sinha who is considered to be one of the front runners in the race for president.

Party insiders, however, say the removal of Mukherjee just two months before the election of the new president would jeopardise the party’s prospects further.