While asking the party to remove uncertainty over his continuance since `it was affecting the state administration', Kalyan also refused to accept any Central post signalling his defiance to any such move by BJP high command.

Situation was compounded on Saturday by an open threat by Kalyan Singh Fans Association members to `take to the streets both in Lucknow and New Delhi' if any move was made to remove Singh as UP Chief Minister.

Kalyan's strategy seems to be to portray himself as `loyal and disciplined member' of the party while at the same time doling out threats through his supporters.

Another Kalyan-loyalist, Naresh Agrawal, Loktantrik Congress president too asked the BJP leadership on Saturday, to take an early decision on the leadership issue in the State to end the prevailing uncertainty there, as bickerings in theparty were sending wrong signal to the public.

In a veiled threat to BJP leadership, Agrawal said that it would be held responsible if any unprecedented development takes place in UP due to present crisis.

The BJP should study the reasons for its debacle in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, keeping in mind the style of functioning of the State Government, ticket distribution and infighting in the party, he said.

The BJP leadership however, has been maintaining a studied silence on the UP crisis. The party is unlikely to take a decision on UP before the national executive of the party scheduled here for November 3 and 4. The executive earlier scheduled for November 13 and 14 has been preponed because the Prime Minister would be away in Durban (South Africa) for a week after November 10 to attend Commonwealth Conference.

Senior BJP leaders claim that the party is likely to offer a package to the warring BJP leaders in UP to resolve the crisis. The biggest hurdle in removing Kalyan so far has beenunavailability of a suitable backward class leader, capable of keeping party's other backward classes (OBC) vote bank intact. The party also did not want to antagonise its upper caste supporters to replace Kalyan with another OBC, ignoring upper castes.

A compromise formula being floated by a section of party's top brass is to continue Kalyan as CM and appoint an upper caste leader - possibly Kalraj Mishra or Lalji Tandon - as Deputy CM to keep upper castes in good humour. State party president Raj Nath Singh may then be inducted in the Union Cabinet in the next expansion, removing all Kalyan detractors from UP. The party however, has been flooded with complaints by several BJP candidates who claim they lost the elections because of Kalyan's apathy to electioneering and sabotage by his supporters. Party leaders are likely to discuss such complaints at the national executive early next month.