Charles Kennedy's former deputy Sir Menzies Campbell was today clear favourite to succeed him as Liberal Democrat leader.
Sir Menzies took charge when Mr Kennedy was forced out by MPs last night and immediately announced he wanted the job full-time. A series of senior MPs have backed him amid calls for rivals to stand aside and avoid a damaging contest ahead of the May local elections.
But party president Simon Hughes appears poised to challenge him and home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten is also considering running.
Splits over the future direction of the party means a contest could prove highly divisive.
Mr Hughes represents the party's left-leaning social democrats while Mr Oaten would be a champion of the economic liberals. Like Mr Kennedy, veteran MP and former Olympic sprinter Sir Menzies, 64, is seen as a figure who could straddle the two camps.
There have already been recriminations over the way Mr Kennedy was treated by his Parliamentary colleagues.
Months of anonymous briefings culminated in the leak that he was receiving treatment for alcoholism, something he long denied. Even then Mr Kennedy tried to survive by calling a leadership contest as he publicly confessed to his drink problem.
Furious MPs responded by giving him an ultimatum to quit or face a mass frontbench resignation.
Mr Kennedy bowed to the inevitable last night admitting the support he had received from activists had not been matched among MPs.
Mr Hughes today claimed that some colleagues had started preparing leadership challenges even before Christmas.
There was "considerable anger" among the party's activists at what had happened, he told BBC1's Sunday AM. "It was clearly the case that some people began to organise leadership contests last year when Charles was very clearly still in harness," he said.
"That seems to me to be unacceptable and inexcusable."
He refused to name names but insisted he was "absolutely not" talking about Sir Menzies.
Although the acting leader did not call for Mr Kennedy to go he did not speak out in his support as the crisis mounted, unlike his two potential rivals . And he has been supported by several of those who played a leading role in publicly pushing for Mr Kennedy to go.
PA