New Delhi, March 14 :    New Delhi, March 14:  The BJP today appointed Jana Krishnamurthi its acting president, reflecting renewed attempts to realign equations in the party. Krishnamurthi, known for his proximity to home minister L.K. Advani, takes over from Bangaru Laxman, who resigned yesterday after he was shown in the Tehelka tapes as accepting a lakh of rupees. Laxman had made it to the top post with the blessings of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. BJP sources clarified Krishnamurthi will function as the party chief and that the tag 'acting president' was notional. Announcing Krishnamurthi's anointment, BJP spokesman Narendra Modi said: 'His appointment will be a permanent arrangement and will be ratified as per provisions of the party's constitution.' Krishnamurthi was the favourite to succeed Kushabhau Thakre as party chief last year because of his ability to articulate the BJP's views on a range of issues. His southern roots were also an advantage; but Krishnamurthi's biggest plus was his proximity to Advani, who was still thought to have the party in his grip. The myth was broken when Vajpayee managed to push through Laxman's candidacy with a double-barrelled commendation: he was a Dalit and a southerner who spoke Hindi fluently, unlike Krishnamurthi. Though the Advani camp accepted Laxman, his Nagpur message, with its pro-minority overtones, made sections of the BJP uncomfortable because they felt he was trying to market himself as a 'liberal' in a party of Hindutva hardliners. 'He turned the BJP headquarters upside down and made sweeping architectural changes,' sources said, referring to Laxman taking over an entire portion of the office and redesigning it according to Vaastu Shastra. 'And look what happened after all the Vaastu, he lost his job,' they said. Little wonder then that not a single BJP leader stood up for Laxman after the Tehelka revelations. Instead, within hours of the video-screening, a huge painted poster, showing Laxman with Vajpayee and Advani, was pulled down. BJP sources admitted that the speed with which Laxman was persuaded by the Prime Minister to quit and Krishnamurthi was appointed reflected a shift in the balance of power in the party and Advani's attempts to regain control after lying low for over a year. Since yesterday, Advani loyalists were seen in the party headquarters, and today, two of them - Union ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar - took over the office administration. Sources said the allegations against the PMO and Vajpayee's son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya had 'considerably undermined' the Prime Minister's position. After ensuring Krishnamurthi's ascendancy, sources said, Advani put in a few words for Laxman at a parliamentary party meeting. Advani likened the tapes to the hawala scam and said that like him, Laxman, too, will be cleared.