Inaugurating the convention of the one-year-old Yuva Lok Shakti, the youth wing of the party, Hegde told party workers that it was up to them to strengthen the organisation in Karnataka. ``My health is not good. I cannot work like before. So it is your responsibility to strengthen the party. I will give you the guidance,'' he told a packed audience at the Town Hall here.

He said there was no place for groupism within the party. ``Individual leaders must keep their self interest in check. The emphasis must be on collective decision-making based on popular opinion,'' he said.

He said individual disagreements within the party must not be given undue prominence. ``It should be sorted out mutually. Only then can the party survive and gain strength,'' he said.

State President Jeevaraj Alvasaid there was no need to expect Hegde to return to state politics and reduce his stature. ``He is needed at the Centre. We will work through his guidance. To strengthen the party it would be enough to carry Hegde's portrait,'' he said.

Before Hegde's arrival, various Yuva Lok Shakti leaders made passionate pleas for their leader to "take a decision'' in sorting out the conflicts within the party. Chandra Kumar, a national office bearer of the party's youth wing, went so far as to say that if the Lok Shakti and Vedike leaders were unable to bury their differences, the Yuva Lok Shakti would be ready to take on the responsibility of building the party. ``But Hedge must take a decision,'' he said.

As for senior leaders in the Vedike, they could become ministers if the party came to power. ``But why should we fight over it now?'' he asked.``If we wanted to fight, we could have stayed in the Janata Dal and kept the Hegde versus Gowda feud going''.

Instead the party must concentrate on exposing the corruptJanata Dal government in the state. He also criticised the Lok Shakti ally - the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, for distancing itself from the Lok Shakti. ``We should participate in each other's programmes'' he added.

The Chickmagalur district president of the party wanted them to part ways with the BJP in the state. ``Why do we need the BJP?'' he asked. The Uttar Kannada district president Venkatesh Hegde Hosabale said the conflicts within the party were destroying it. ``In the last sixth months nothing concrete had been done in terms of programmes. There may come a time when Hegde must be prepared to part ways with the BJP just as he did with the Janata Dal,'' he added.