Lucknow, March 7: Vanquished chief minister Mayawati today handed in her resignation but the party that will rule Uttar Pradesh for the next five years was still undecided on who would succeed her.

Samajwadi boss Mulayam Singh Yadav deferred a decision on choosing the chief minister till after Holi as the party’s parliamentary board, which met this afternoon, failed to reach a consensus on whether the veteran or his 38-year-old son Akhilesh, dubbed a game-changer, should assume the reins.

While the younger leaders wanted Akhilesh to head the new government, sources said the older ones rooted for Mulayam.

They said Mulayam himself wanted his son to take over as he would prefer to be in Delhi to focus on national politics, though Akhilesh insisted on his 72-year-old father.

“We have not taken any decision on who will be the next chief minister. My proposal at the meeting was to make my father chief minister again. We will have another meeting on this on March 10 and then a meeting of the newly elected members would be convened to elect their leader as chief minister. They would have the final say,” he said after the two-hour meeting that started around noon.

Some veteran leaders said they hoped to come up with a decision over Holi, which falls tomorrow, saying the spirit of friendliness that marks this festival of colours would help them reach a consensus.

Earlier in the day, Mayawati had met governor B.L. Joshi shortly after 11 and handed in her resignation. The governor is believed to have asked her to carry on as a caretaker chief minister till her successor is sworn in.

In the evening, Mulayam and Akhilesh, accompanied by party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary, met the governor. Samajwadi sources said it was more a courtesy call following the party’s victory with a clear majority. “We want to come back to you soon, Sir,” Mulayam is believed to have told Joshi, who congratulated the Samajwadi chief and allowed him time to decide.

“The governor of Uttar Pradesh is expected, as per rule, to invite the leader of the winning party to form the government. But in this case, the governor cannot initiate the process right now… as he is yet to know who is the leader of the elected party,” a spokesman for the governor’s house said. “The governor would wait till the Holi festivities are over. The constitutional process towards formation of the government would begin after that.”

Sources said the governor was yet to receive the list of newly elected MLAs from the office of the chief election commissioner.

Samajwadi insiders interpreted Akhilesh’s presence at the meeting with the governor as a clear sign that he would be the next chief minister, but wouldn’t go beyond that.

Earlier, senior leaders, including Mulayam’s cousin Ramgopal Yadav, brother Shivpal, MP Dharmendra Yadav and Akhilesh, deliberated on who would be the state’s next chief at the meeting of the parliamentary board, the party’s highest decision-making body that also includes several veteran MLAs.

Senior leaders like Shivpal, Akhilesh’s uncle, insisted that Mulayam head the new government. It was clear that Shivpal was upset that his nephew had reversed the decision to bring back don-turned-former MLA D.P. Yadav to the party.

Shivpal was the first to step out, but refused to speak to the media.

But Samajwadi general secretary Naresh Agarwal told reporters that most MLAs rooted for Akhilesh. “A majority of MLAs are in favour of making Akhilesh the next CM. At the meeting of legislators, they will put in their views on the issue,” Agarwal said.

Till then, it is destination Saifai for Mulayam and Akhilesh.

In the evening, father and son both left for their native village in Etawah district, 230km west of Lucknow. They would like to celebrate Holi there before coming back on March 10 morning.