Bengaluru: Jailed MLA, Anand Singh, sent his resignation letter to Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa through the jail authorities on Monday. Now the BJP is persuading its MLA to withdraw the resignation.

Singh is lodged in the central prison here after his arrest by the Lokayukta’s Special Investigative Team on charges of illegally transporting iron ore.

On Tuesday, former minister Raju Gowda met Singh in the jail and tried to persuade him to withdraw the resignation. Gowda is a close friend of Singh’s.

The official reason for Singh’s resignation is that he was not able to focus on his constituency on account of his incarceration. But sources said Singh was cut up with the party leaders for not coming to his rescue during his “troubled times”.

A delegation of BJP leaders from Ballari is likely to meet him on Wednesday. “We will ascertain the exact reason for his resignation. He is not a person who gives up easily,” BJP Ballari unit general secretary Anantha Padmanabha said.

The Speaker, who is on a private visit to Udupi, said he would decide on Singh’s resignation after reaching Bengaluru. Normally, a legislator has to submit his or her resignation letter in person, he said.