Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Saturday resigned soon after being defeated by United Progressive Alliance-Left nominee Pratibha Patil in the presidential election.

Shortly after Pratibha was declared elected to the highest office in the country, Shekhawat drove to Rashtrapati Bhavan [Images] and submitted his resignation to President A P J Abdul Kalam.

In his brief resignation letter, the vice president thanked Kalam for his cooperation and guidance.

"I hereby tender my resignation from the post of vice president of India and am extremely grateful to you for the cooperation and guidance that I have always got from you," Shekhawat wrote.

Earlier, as news came in that Pratibha had won the election, the 84-year-old National Democratic Alliance-backed independent candidate issued a statement saying he accepted his defeat with "all humility."

Shekhawat telephoned Pratibha to congratulate the UPA-Left nominee, who defeated him by a huge margin of over 3 lakh vote value in the electoral college of around 10 lakh.

In the statement, he said he would continue to "work for the uplift of poor and deprived sections of the society so that they can enjoy their fundamental rights with dignity."

After resigning, Shekhawat gave up his official vehicle and returned from Rashtrapati Bhavan in his personal car.