BJP denies differences on appointment of party prez for Raj

New Delhi, Jan 4 (UNI) Soft pedalling differences in the BJP on the issue of appointment of new party chief in Rajasthan, the party today asserted that Om Mathur was the new party president in the state.

Answering questions about appointment of Mr Mathur, who will succeed Mahesh Chandra Sharma, who in turn has the support of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje, party spokesman Ravishankar Prasad said there had been no defiance from any quarters.

He said there could be no ''special meaning'' in Ms Raje's meeting party president Rajnath Singh.

''A Chief Minister can meet the party president any number of times'', Mr Prasad remarked.

There have been numerous speculations about the differences between senior BJP leader L K Advani and Mr Singh, and the BJP was under pressure to withdraw the appointment.

Sources said the new president may take over on January six or eight in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister.

Sources also discounted the reports suggesting the existance of a 'caucus' functioning under Mr Advani giving him inputs on the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The party can solicit inputs from any quarters including journalists was the answer by the spokesman to the newspersons who sought to know locus standi of Mr Sudhindra Kulkarni, former secretary of the BJP. He had to quit the post following the controversial Pakistan visit of Mr Advani.

After keeping away from the party affairs for some time, Mr Kulkarni has been actively functioning in Mr Advani's office and residence.

UNI MCN SK RN1856