According to sources, lobbying for the post is likely to begin anytime, with the contenders ready to stake their claims with the higher-ups in Ahmedabad.

Among those said to be in the running are former mayor Ratilal Desai, former State party general secretary Chunibhai Bariya, former deputy mayor Ram Manohar Tiwari, Vadodara Urban Development Authority chairman Krishnakant Shah and Mukund Shah, a confidant of ant board chairman.

When contacted, Central Gujarat BJP spokesman Shabdasharan Brahmbhatt told Express Newsline that the State party leaders would solicit the views of city unit office-bearers, councillors and all those who matter before selecting the president. Loyalty to the party would be one of the important criteria, sources said.

While the BJP is no mood to take a hasty decision, it is keeping the September polls and the elections to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation -- one-and-a-half years away now -- in mind while looking for a leader who can keep the rank and file together.

Though some insiders apprehend a hardliner will evoke a negative reaction from party-workers, others are confident it will have a limited impact. ``The partymen have learnt a lesson from the Shankersinh Vaghela revolt'', says a councillor on condition of anonymity.

A case in point is the uproar raised by a section of councillors and partymen over the appointment of Ratilal Desai, a staunch supporter of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, as mayor a year ago. The many State-level representations soon fizzled out into nothingness.

The preference of the powers-that-be for hardliners was also apparent in the selection of Jayaben Thakkar, with her strong links to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, for the Lok Sabha party ticket over Jitendra Sukhadia, who had lost the last election to the Congress.

That move, too, triggered discontent, but eventually, all sections of party workers fell in line.