Hyderabad: Asserting that there was no need to name Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's successor at this stage, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said its focus at present was on the "success in polls and not the successor".

"There is no need to name the next person because the first person is very much there. There is no dearth of leadership in the party," BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu said in an interview onboard a special aircraft en route to Bidar yesterday (Apr 17, 2004) where he addressed an election rally along with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convenor and Defence Minister George Fernandes.

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Naidu's comments come close on the heels of Vajpayee disclosing in an interview to a news channel that the line of succession after him has been decided by the party and there was a consensus on who would replace him.

Apparently unwilling to allow "successor issue" to affect BJP's poll campaign, Naidu said, "We are in an election mode. We are focussed on poll success and not successor."

Ridiculing the Opposition demand that BJP spell out the name of successor, Naidu said, "They (Congress) believe in dynasty. When they found that present leadership has failed to take off, they are now looking up to children (Rahul and Priyanka)."

Naidu also strongly disapproved of the recent opinion polls giving a poor popularity rating for Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on the question of who would be ideal candidate to lead the country.

"He (Advani) is not in the race (for Prime Ministership). So, question of dragging him into the rating is absurd. He is campaigning for Vajpayee," Naidu said.

Differing with Election Commission's view that distribution of sarees in Lucknow, resulting in a stampede killing 22 women, amounted to violation of poll code, Naidu said his party would reply to the EC notice.

"BJP was in no way involved in the event. Some individuals had organised the function in honour of Lalji Tandon on his birthday. Neither the party nor its functionaries are involved in this," he said.

Taking umbrage over the Opposition's attempts to drag the Prime Minister into the controversy, he said, "It is highly condemnable and reflects the Opposition's frustration."

Asked whether he felt the EC has "over-stepped" its brief on the issue, he said, "I will not comment on the Commission's notice. But we have a right to differ with its views."

The BJP president also objected to projecting Tandon as the Prime Minister's poll agent.

Asked about Vajpayee expressing unhappiness over his party leaders making personal attacks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Naidu said, "It applies to all. Vajpayee is a statesman and he wants an ideal situation. I also appeal to my partymen to maintain restraint and understand the spirit behind the Prime Minister's advice."

He, however, said Gandhi's foreign origin was a political issue that could be raised during election campaign. "As Indians, it is our birth right to oppose a person of foreign origin aspiring to occupy high post. We have a great history of freedom struggle against foreign rulers".