Kasyanov's supporters held a separate conference in Moscow while the congress was electing the party leader.
Kasyanov and Andrei Bogdanov, the chairman of the Democratic Party's Central Committee, were nominated for leadership. Bogdanov was elected leader by an overwhelming majority of votes.
Kasyanov said his supporters failed to agree on a further plan of actions. "We decided not to make hasty decisions," he said. "We have two years before the [parliamentary] elections."
He called those who gathered for the DPR congress "impostors."
Leaders of the parties Our Choice and Union of Right Forces (SPS) Irina Khakamada and Nikita Belykh also attend the conference of Kasyanov's supporters. The latter said Russia needed "a strong democratic party."
Meanwhile, Bogdanov said his party had no contradictions with SPS, Yabloko and the Republican Party. "If we unite on the DPR basis, we can really win a right-wing victory in the 2007 elections."
"We understand that no one knows me in Russia," Bogdanov said adding that the Democratic Party needed a strong ideology, not a strong leader.
