Wednesday, June 8 2005 09:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: With signs that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president L K Advani may not retract on his resignation, party General Secretary Rajnath Singh is likely to emerge as the proverbial dark horse to succeed him to the top post in the near future.

While party vice president M Venkiah Naidu is expected to officiate as the president for the time being, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister may take over the mantle in the "near future", party sources said.

Other probables for the post include former party president Murli Manohar Joshi and BJP deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj.

The Thakur leader's experience as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the party's keenness to revive itself in the politically-crucial State and win over upper caste voters are among the factors that could tilt the balance in his favour, party sources said.

Singh, who is also bracketed with "Gen Next" leaders, is credited with getting for the party difficult States like Chattisgarh and Jharkhand where he was the poll in-charge last year, they said.

Singh also enjoys the confidence of the Sangh Parivar, which is crucial for any candidate for the top post, especially in the current context.

Though former HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi should have ideally topped the list of probables in view of the Sangh support, his elevation could be seen as "a slap on the face" of party rival Advani, the sources said.

Moreover, Joshi does not enjoy a mass base like Rajnath Singh, they said. The same argument holds true for both Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.

The sources said Naidu's elevation on a permanent basis could embarrass the party as he had resigned only a few months ago though Advani had full faith in him.

Another second rung leader Pramod Mahajan suffers from an image problem, particularly in the eyes of the Parivar, which could prove to be a disqualification.