Lucknow: Unabated infighting in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh has taken a new turn with two senior leaders coming out in the open against the practice of nomination of the state party president by the national leadership.

Party general secretary K.N. Govindacharya, who is in charge of Uttar Pradesh affairs, has made it clear that the incumbent, Om Prakash Singh, will not continue with his dual responsibilities. Singh is also a cabinet minister in the government of Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta.

Two disgruntled BJP leaders have dared the national leadership to stop them from contesting the coveted position. Their defiance has led the BJP leadership to seek the intervention of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the party's ideological parent, which started a two-day "brain-storming" session in Lucknow on Wednesday.

Among those attending the closed-door meeting are Srikant Joshi and Suresh Rao Ketkar, who is also the in charge of the Sangh's Uttar Pradesh affairs. Significantly, the RSS leaders have called top state BJP leaders separately for discussions.

The two leaders who have thrown their hats in the ring are Ram Prakash Tripathi, currently holding the vice president's post, and former minister Sarjeet Singh Dang.

Tripathi is claiming the top post on the grounds that he has served the party for decades and had been deprived of the job once. "In 1997, I had sought the position but was made to withdraw in favor of Rajnath Singh, who was brought in to lead the party," Tripathi told India Abroda News Service. "Enough is enough, I am not going to retrace my steps this time," he added.

Dang claimed that he had a sufficient following to stake his claim for the post. "It is high time this practice of imposing someone from the top is discontinued. Let there be a free and fair election and whoever gets the highest number of votes will get the job," he said.

Both Tripathi and Dang have criticized the party leadership's call for a candidate from the so-called OBC (other backward castes) as the party chief. "Let merit and not caste be the consideration for the party president," Tripathi said.

"If we continue to take decisions solely on the basis of caste considerations, the day is not far when we will turn into another Samajwadi Party (SP) or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)," Dang warned.

However, Govindacharya is believed to be in favor of an OBC leader as party boss. He has reportedly tried to impress upon Om Prakash Singh, an OBC, to abdicate the office of minister and assume charge as party chief.

Singh, who has been overseeing party affairs since his predecessor Rajnath Singh was shifted to the Centre as a cabinet minister, has carried out smooth organizational polls for all other positions other than the state party chief.

Some observers believe he lacks the capability to carry a diverse team along.

Meanwhile, party bigwigs are hoping that the defiant aspirants will back down so that they can nominate someone of their choice once again.