Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday resigned after his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) suffered a stunning defeat in general elections, according to the latest report of Indo-Asia News Service.

Vajpayee drove to the Presidential Palace Rashtrapati Bhavan after a cabinet meeting and handed over his papers to president A P J Abdul Kalam.

Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, the prime minister was with the president for 15 minutes.

The president accepted his resignation and asked him to continue till alternative arrangements are made.

Vajpayee to be leader of opposition in Indian parliament

Outgoing Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian parliament), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.

The Press Trust of India reported that emerging from an hour-long cabinet meeting, Swaraj said that Vajpayee will be the leader of opposition and will remain leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) as well as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The cabinet meeting, initially presided over by Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani, passed a resolution lauding Vajpayee's performance as prime minister.

Later, Vajpayee addressed the meeting and said that he would submit his resignation to president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam respecting the people's mandate.

The meeting was attended by 12 ministers, including Defence Minister and NDA convener George Fernandes.

Addressing the meeting, Vajpayee voiced satisfaction over the work done during his six-year tenure and said that the impact of the decisions would be felt in the years to come.

Vajpayee also said that the NDA has six years experience in running the government and that would help in discharging its duties in the opposition more responsibly.