Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who addressed an election rally in Uttar Pradesh as late as in the fourth phase of the assembly polls, has expressed his desire to quit active politics, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's newspaper, the Panchjanya, has said.

'Relieve me of active politics. It's enough, let me go,' the editorial in the latest issue of the weekly journal has quoted him as saying before joining the BJP's campaign in UP.

He gave his consent to campaign in Uttar Pradesh after a lot of effort, the Panchjanya said, describing him a rare 'pragya purush (man of high intellect)' in India's political tradition.

Almost two years after RSS chief K S Sudarshan's comments that both Vajpayee and senior BJP leader L K Advani were too old to lead the party, the Sangh organ has written now that the mere presence of the former prime minister on the electoral scene triggers massive confidence and hope.

"At last, his presence (in Uttar Pradesh) remained a compelling necessity," it said.