Monday, May 16 2005 08:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi/Ranchi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership yesterday (May 15, 2005) mounted efforts to mollify senior party leader from Jharkhand Babulal Marandi who had threatened to quit over the appointment of Yadunath Pande as the State party president.

BJP general secretary in charge of Jharkhand affairs Rajnath Singh spoke to Marandi over phone and is understood to have persuaded him not to take any precipitative action.

BJP president L K Advani is also understood to have invited the former Jharkhand Chief Minister for talks in Delhi.

A Ranchi report said Pandey himself travelled to Dumka and met party vice president Marandi for over an hour and later described his talks as "constructive" and expressed the hope that the present crisis in the party would blow over.

Asked whether he expected Marandi to accept him as state unit president, Pandey said, "Has he said he is against me?"

On what transpired during the meeting, Pandey said, "That is an internal matter. But I can tell you the talks were constructive and all the minutes were very cordial and friendly."

Pandy promised to work as a bridge between the party and the Government and said he would take with him all leaders, including Marandi, Chief Minister Arjun Munda, senior leaders Karia Munda and Yashwant Sinha and party's Jharkhand in-charge Rajnath Singh.

Former State BJP president Abhyakant Prasad and a couple of other leaders were also at Pandey-Marandi meeting.

In Delhi, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar told reporters that the problem in Jharkhand would "soon blow over and it is a temporary phase".