Mumbai: In a fresh jolt to the Nationalist Congress Party, former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday quit as the MLA from Baramati, party sources said here.

No reasons are given for the abrupt step by Pawar, who was named - along with his uncle and NCP President Sharad Pawar - by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged Rs 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Ltd. scam.

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade also confirmed that Ajit Pawar had submitted his resignation as legislator and it has been accepted.

The development came on the day when nominations for the October 21 Assembly elections opened.