Putting behind the bitterness of the 'lauh purush-vikas purush' controversy, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday showered praise on Bharatiya Janata Party president M Venkaiah Naidu for his 'tireless efforts' to enliven the activities of the party.

Addressing the party's 'chintan baithak' at Uttan in Thane district near Mumbai, Vajpayee said: "I am astonished by his [Naidu's] energy level. If all the functionaries and activists work with such enthusiasm, I have no doubt that we shall overcome all challenges before us and march towards success."

Naidu had plunged the BJP into a deep crisis by his June 2 statement that the party would project both Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani equally in the 2004 general election.

Though the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance partners later reaffirmed their confidence in Vajpayee in a flurry of nervous statements and Naidu himself said that Vajpayee would continue to be the prime minister for many more years, the ugly controversy exposed the power struggle in the party.

The words of encouragement from Vajpayee in Uttan must have come as a great relief to Naidu.

Vajpayee exhorted party workers to bear in mind that "political power has an intrinsic quality of reducing people's trust in rulers. Therefore, our conduct in government and as functionaries of the ruling party should be such so as to neutralise this trust-eroding quality of power."

Complimenting his deputy Lal Kishenchand Advani for ably discharging twin responsibilities, the prime minister said: "Not only is he a source of strength for me in the government, but he also devotes a lot of time and energy to guide the party in its work."

He said the mid-course correctives initiated after the BJP's national executive in Goa in April 2002 have yielded positive results.