Meerajudin Patel, the state unit president of the Janata Dal - Secular, resigned from his post on Sunday, in the wake of the party's poor performance in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Patel also lost from the Humnabad constituency.

His resignation, which was tendered to party supremo H D Deve Gowda, is yet to be accepted. Patel, who contested from the Humnabad constituency, polled 29,438 votes and came second in the race. Congress candidate Basavaraj Patil won from Humnabad with 28,758 votes.

Patel accepted responsibility for the party's poor showing and felt that it would be best if he resigned from his position. Patel had come into the limelight when the BJP-JD-S coalition was ruling Karnataka. He had been the face of the JD-S when the coalition ran into troubled waters. Patel had been the messenger of all the major decisions taken by the Gowda household.