New Delhi: In a significant statement, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (April 15, 2004) disclosed for the first time that the line of succession after him has been decided in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but declined to reveal who it would be.

"There is a consensus within the party as to who will replace me after I go," he told NDTV 24x7 in an interview when asked, "Would it be L K Advani," a release issued by the TV channel said.

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In the interview after filing his nomination papers in Lucknow constituency in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Vajpayee denied he had contemplated retirement.

Asked what he would do after retirement, Vajpayee said, "I would like to go back to my poetry and my writing."

He also called for an immediate end to all personal attacks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "I don't know why senior leaders continue to attack her even when I had asked them not to. This is unfortunate and should not have happened. This must end now."

The Prime Minister was replying to a question on what he thought of remarks about Gandhi by BJP leaders Narendra Modi and Vinay Katiyar.