Lucknow, March 19 :     Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh went on the offensive against his detractors on Wednesday, blasting partymen orchestrating a signature campaign to oust him. Singh had resorted to a similar strategy last December, when he threatened midterm polls if there was a move to remove him. This time, however, the chief minister is in a position of greater strength, since any move by the party high command to replace him has been put on hold. Sources close to the chief minister said it was important to nip in the bud any signs of dissidence. Singh was also probably encouraged by the fact that the signature campaign, initiated by a legislator close to urban development minister Lalji Tandon, has virtually fizzled out. Despite claims that 92 MLAs have signed the memorandum to be presented to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee during his visit to Lucknow on March 28, no more than six or seven MLAs are willing to sign. ?We know the campaign has not started. But it?s best to stop it even before it begins,? a senior minister close to Singh said. The dissidents have come up against a major road block ? there is no alternative to Singh in sight. Tandon and his Cabinet colleague Kalraj Mishra have been rejected as candidates. The names of RSS leader and state BJP vice-president Ram Prakash Gupta have been suggested by some senior BJP members. But both Vajpayee and Union home minister L.K. Advani feel he could be a stop-gap chief minister at best. Singh got a major boost during the recently-concluded meeting of RSS representatives in Lucknow. During backroom discussions, the RSS supported Singh and warned his detractors not to tarnish his image. The RSS even said reports of the much-publicised ?closeness? of Singh to BJP councillor Kusumlata Rai were ?exaggerated?. According to sources, Rai along with human resources development minister Uma Bharti recently met Advani and told him that she was a dedicated Sangh parivar worker and her father Matam Rai a committed RSS supporter. That Advani agreed to meet the councillor and give her a patient hearing is significant. Buoyed by the RSS? support, Singh has stepped up the offensive against his opponents. His decision to make Rajendra Tiwari and Ram Kumar Shukla, both of whom are known to be anti-Tandon, chairmen of two corporations is part of the same exercise. Rai is also tipped to head an important corporation with the rank of minister of state. With Singh firmly in the saddle, the three-day BJP camp in Varanasi has lost much of its significance. For the moment, the chief minister?s rivals like Tandon and president of the state BJP unit Rajnath Singh can only bide their time.