With voices of dissent against Chief Minister Kalyan Singh getting louder by the day, the leadership has decided to settle the issue by speaking to both Singh and his detractors in New Delhi, though the dates have yet not been finalised, senior BJP leaders claimed. The issue, which was not discussed at the national executive that ended here today, may be informally debated among top party leaders tomorrow.

The Chief Minister also wants the dispute to be settled once and for all. A close confidante of Singh said,``If the leadership wants to replace him, it should act quickly. Open dissension against the Chief Minister does not augur well for the party. Besides, it also erodes his authority. Otherwise, the party should ensure that there is no public display of dissent against him.'' Singh, incidentally, enjoys much more support among the top leadershipthan his detractors. Replacing him therefore, is not easy.

A number of senior BJP leaders in UP have been demanding Singh's replacement, because of his ``unavailability to party leaders, poor governance and autocratic style of functioning.''

Dissidents got a shot in the arm when the BJP's allies, the Loktantrik Congress and the Jantantrik BSP, recently claimed that their support was to the party and not individuals (read Kalyan Singh).

Singh's supporters, however, credit him with winning 60 out of the total 85 seats in the State during the last Parliamentary elections. They also claim that the party has been performing fairly well in the Assembly by-elections held last year.

``The BJP's popularity is on the rise in Uttar Pradesh under Singh's leadership. If the party sacrifices him, it can only be at its own expense,'' said another State BJP leader. But problems in the State BJP are not superficial. Even Central party leaders admit that the BJP in UP is in the grip of severe caste politics: forwardsversus backwards. Singh and Irrigation Minister Om Prakash Singh lead the backwards lobby, while Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon and State party chief Rajnath Singh lead the group of forwards, which is seeking the CM's head.

Various factions within the State BJP have their own spokesmen. Thus, while party MP Swami Sachchidanand Sakshi from Farrukhabad, a backward, keeps on deriding Kalyan-detractors; another MP, Amar Pal Singh, known for his proximity to Rajnath Singh, recently claimed that the CM had lost support among the party MPs and MLAs and, therefore, should be removed immediately.

A meeting of Brahmin MLAs and ministers seeking to remove Singh last month, provided impetus to the `Sack Kalyan Singh' campaign. But Singh's camp has been using the meeting to claim that any move to remove the Chief Minister would fuel the casteist politics in the party.