JAKARTA, March 11 (UPI) -- Indonesia's top security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, resigned Thursday after a rift with President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
"I have sent a letter to president Megawati Sukarnoputri to give my resignation from the cabinet," said Yudhoyono, the coordinating minister for political and security affairs.
Yudhoyono quit the cabinet the same day when some 24 political parties kicked off their campaign for the April 5 parliamentary elections.
Relations between Yudhoyono and Megawati have been strained in recent weeks after the minister made clear his ambitions to run for the presidency in the country's first direct presidential election on July 5.
After being excluded from a recent tour of the archipelago led by Megawati, Yudhoyono on March 8 sent the president a letter reminding her of his duties as security chief. He also asked for a chance to met Megawati.
Instead of responding to Yudhoyono's letter, Megawati, through her State Secretary Bambang Kesowo, criticized Yudhoyono for sending a letter to the president when he could "directly" address her at any time.
Yudhoyono strongly denied Kesowo's claims.
Kesowo said on Thursday that Megawati has received Yudhoyono's resignation letter, and "she will consider soon."
Opinion polls found that Yudhoyono, an ex-four-star army general, has consistently come in second or third as the most popular candidate for the presidency after Megawati.
He has set up his own Democrat Party, which is most likely to declare him its presidential candidate soon.
A presidential ticket must have the support of a party or group of parties that has either 30 percent of seats in the parliament or 5 percent of the vote in the general election.
"If there is political party or a group of parties nominated me a presidential candidate, I'm ready," Yudhoyono said about his future political career.
