diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 0bbf9d28af..b5ace4cb49 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -1112,9 +1112,6 @@ if ! $python -c 'import sys; sys.exit(sys.version_info < (3,6))'; then
       "Use --python=/path/to/python to specify a supported Python."
 fi
 
-# Preserve python version since some functionality is dependent on it
-python_version=$($python -c 'import sys; print("%d.%d.%d" % (sys.version_info[0], sys.version_info[1], sys.version_info[2]))' 2>/dev/null)
-
 # Suppress writing compiled files
 python="$python -B"