How infighting in Bihar BJP will mar its winning prospect against 'grand alliance'?

These are certainly not good days for the BJP in Bihar. Cracks within the party's Bihar unit have started coming out in open after the party suffered a defeat at the hands of JD(U)-RJD-Congress grand alliance in the recently concluded by-polls. Party leaders are now questioning Bihar unit's chief Sushil Kumar Modi's leadership skills in the state.

Growing clamour in Bihar BJP against SuMo

Several BJP men are blaming the senior leader for the party's poor show in the by-polls in which the BJP had won just four out of ten assembly seats. While the so called "secular alliance" in Bihar had won six.

Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday blamed the senior BJP leader for the party's poor show in the recent bypolls in Bihar.

"He (Sushil Modi) acted as one man army (in the bypoll in Bihar recently) which did not yield good results for the BJP in the state," Sinha told reporters.

"The basic principle of collective leadership should have been followed in Bihar bypolls which did not happen and one man took all the decisions keeping others away," he said taking a dig at Sushil Modi, projected as chief ministerial probable of the party by a section of leaders.

Sinha aspiring to be BJP's next CM candidate of Bihar?

Sinha not only stopped at accusing Sushil Modi of authoritarianism but also projected himself as a suitable replacement. The BJP MP from Patna Saheb Lok Sabha seat even hinted taking up the responsibility of leading the party in the next assembly polls. He said that he would not shun responsibility of leading the party in next year's Assembly election, if leaders "collectively" picked him for the role.

Why voices in the BJP growing against SuMo?

There had been clamour in the Bihar BJP over one upmanship of Sushil Modi but no one openly uttered a word against him. That was also because SuMo is oldest face of the BJP in the state and he has played the most crucial role in taking the BJP to its current position in the state. Also, due to his clean image no one ever dared to question his decision in the state.

Internal fight in Bihar BJP will help rivals become stronger

But, after rumours of Sushil Modi's alleged involvement in a medical scam in the state, along with other fellow BJP leaders, started doing the rounds those against him have started raising voices. BJP's decimation at the hands of JD(U), Congress and RJD (in the Bihar by polls) which reflects party's dwindled popularity graph has also given his opponents an ideal opportunity to challenge his authority.

Infighting will only strengthen BJP's opponents

It is widely known that Shatrughna Sinha and Sushil Modi do not share best of relations hence it has given the former a chance to attack the latter.

But such infighting will do no good to the party's fortunes which has already taken a beating after the formation of the grand alliance. It will unnecessarily divert the party's attention from core issue of decimating its opponents.

Expressing glee over 'infighting' in state BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday said if rivals fight like this, the non-BJP parties would keep getting stronger, and would form the next government too.

At a time when the party is facing a tough task of restoring people's faith in it such issues will give it opponents a chance to become stronger. Instead of brick battering at each other, the party's first and foremost priority must be to introspect what exactly went wrong and focus on strengthening its grass roots for decimating the JD(U)-RJD-Congress combine in next year's assembly polls.