New Delhi, Aug 27 - The crisis in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has led to another casualty: star leader L.K. Advani's much-hyped 'yatra' of next month that has now been postponed, party sources said Thursday.

The 'yatra', an Advani trademark since September 1990, was aimed at rejuvenating the party's demoralised cadres in the wake of the Lok Sabha poll debacle and before a round of state elections.

'We thought of timing it to begin before the Maharashtra assembly elections in October. This has been postponed,' a senior party leader told IANS.

The BJP is a major player in Maharashtra where it is allied with the Shiv Sena. The BJP is also a key player in Haryana.

Advani, 81, had announced at the party's national executive meeting here in June that he would travel across the country to explain to party workers the reasons the BJP lost the Lok Sabha battle when it was hoping to dislodge the Congress.

'In order to let party (members) know both the opportunities and tasks before us, I have decided to tour the entire country. I shall be visiting all the states, and more than one place in some of the bigger states,' Advani had said.

According to party insiders, Advani was to have begun his journey from the three states scheduled to go to the polls, probably in October: Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh.

However, the crisis that has now enveloped the party has forced Advani to do a rethink, party sources told IANS.

The BJP expelled former cabinet minister Jaswant Singh last week for his controversial book praising Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.