Manoj Sinha, Dharampal vie for UP BJP chief's post

NEW DELHI: Union minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha and three-time MLA Dharampal have emerged frontrunners for the next BJP president in Uttar Pradesh although lack of consensus persists among the key stakeholders in the state.

Stalemated for almost three months, announcement of the new party president is likely in the next few days, possibly before the party's national convention scheduled in New Delhi on March 19-20.Current party president c completed his tenure in December last year and insiders are convinced that he is out of contention.

Hobbled by lack of majority in Rajya Sabha, BJP is banking heavily on Uttar Pradesh, which elects 404 MLAs, the highest in the country. However, indecision on the new president speaks volumes about the party descending into a quagmire with assembly polls barely a year away.

Party sources said the national leadership had decided to appoint Sinha as the next president. But it was put on hold as factional fighting erupted with various functionaries pitching for their respective loyalists.

It is learnt that national general secretary (in-charge of Uttar Pradesh) Om Mathur is lobbying for MLA Dharampal, a Lodh leader from Ruhelkhand region, who enjoys support of Union home minister Rajnath Singh too.