BJP debates Uma's fate

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) brass tonight decided to refer the issue of leadership change in Madhya Pradesh to the parliamentary board.

While BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan claimed to reporters after a two-hour long meeting of the party's general secretaries and senior leaders here that the issue did not figure at the meeting at all, sources said it was decided that the parliamentary board was the "appropriate forum" to decide on change of leadership.

However, no date has been decided for the meeting of the parliamentary board.

With battle lines drawn between state ministers and legislators supporting former Chief Minister Uma Bharati and BJP state unit chief Shivraj Singh Chauhan, today's meeting had assumed significance as Bharati was given an assurance that the issue would be taken up after the Bihar Assembly polls.

The late evening meeting also triggered speculation about differences among the central leaders on the issue as most of the second generation leaders were said to be opposed to Bharati's return as chief minister. "The Madhya Pradesh issue was not discussed at all," Mahajan said, adding "this is not the forum for discussing the issue. It is the parliamentary board which decides on such issues".