Bihar’s BJP MLA Rashmi Varma, representing the Narkatiaganj constituency, resigned from the Legislative Assembly on Sunday citing personal reasons. The move gave a jolt to her party as it could have political implications in poll-bound neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

“I am resigning from the membership of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha due to personal reasons. Please accept my resignation letter,” Varma said in the letter addressed to Assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Sunday.

The Narkatiaganj MLA also posted her photograph showing the resignation letter on various social media accounts. Attempts to contact her over phone did not succeed and messages were not replied to. Sinha’s office said that it was yet to receive the resignation letter.

Meanwhile, BJP Bihar unit president Sanjay Jaiswal told reporters that Varma “resigned due to property dispute in her family. She was hurt by remarks made against her. It has nothing to do with politics. She is still a member of our party”.

A month ago Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had tweeted about the alleged involvement of Varma’s brother (Rai Anup Prasad) in Uttar Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test (UPTET) paper leak after his arrest by the police’s special task force there.

“As per the news, the mastermind of the UPTET paper leak is the brother of a BJP MLA. Yogi Adityanath ji, all your talks about strictness and transparency are hollow,” Priyanka had tweeted.

Reacting to Priyanka’s tweet, Varma had said that she had always protested against wrong things and had a clean image.

“I have never been into business with my brother. I do not even know what business he had or had not. I am the daughter-in-law of Bihar and I have a lot of work here. My parents’ home is in Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka Gandhi should have found this out before blaming me,” Varma had said.

Varma, 54, hails from the erstwhile Sarhari state in Uttar Pradesh. She was married to Alok Prasad Varma of the erstwhile Shikarpur estate in West Champaran district of Bihar.

BJP Bihar unit president Sanjay Jaiswal said that he has talked to MLA Rashmi Varma and “she will not hand over her resignation letter to Assembly speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha. She will complete her full term”.