Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung on Thursday submitted his resignation to the government of India. A statement from his office said that he will return to “his first love”, academics. He had 18 months left in his tenure.

Jung thanked the prime minister for the “help and cooperation” he received during his tenure as the 20th lieutenant governor of the Delhi-National Capital Region. He was sworn in on July 9, 2013. He also thanked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his association in the last two years. Kejriwal said on Twitter, “Najeeb Jung’s resignation is a surprise to me. My best wishes in all his future endeavours.”

Congress leader Ajay Maken has demanded to know the reason behind Jung’s “unceremonious exit”. However, Ajay Chaudhary, an officer on special duty to the lieutenant governor, said Jung wanted to spend time with his family and that his resignation was for personal reasons.

The lieutenant governor’s resignation comes at a time when the Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has demanded more powers for the region’s administration. The AAP government had moved the Delhi High Court after the Union Home Affairs Ministry passed a notification on May 21 giving “unprecedented powers” to the lieutenant governor.

On August 4, the court had dismissed the AAP’s contention that the lieutenant governor had to act on the advice of the Delhi Cabinet. The Delhi government later filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, a bench of which on December 14 observed that the state administration needed to have some powers to be able to function properly. The final hearing in the matter has been scheduled for January 18.