Patna:
Trouble seems to be brewing within the Bihar unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP. A party MLA was today suspended after he raised his voice against the state unit chief, Sushil Modi.
"You have a Modi in Gujarat and you have a Modi in Bihar. The Modi in Gujarat is doing all he can for the welfare of his followers. But the Modi in Bihar is killing us (
Yahan toh karyakartaon ka hatya ho raha hai)," Amarnath Gami, MLA from Hayaghat in Darbhanga district, said.
Mr Gami is not alone in his dissidence. There are many more within the party who are expected to raise the banner of revolt.
Mr Sushil Modi, the seniormost BJP leader in Bihar, is known for his alleged autocratic style of functioning.
Two days ago, BJP workers in Rohtas protested against Mr Modi and shouted slogans against him during his visit.
BJP's ex-ally Janata Dal United or JDU said that this was just the beginning of the downfall of the party.
"This is just the beginning. There are many more people like Mr Gami in the BJP," said Shivanand Tiwari, hinting that they too would quit.
State BJP President Mangal Pandey, however, hit back, accusing the JDU of luring away its MLAs and trying to shore up its numbers within the Assembly.
"Our MLAs are being offered ministership and their relatives are being promised seats in the legislative council," he said.
"The day the Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar) expands his Council of Ministers, there will be a split in JDU. So, he is trying to increase his numbers in the assembly," Mr Pandey said.
The absence of a few dissident MLAs like Mr Gami had prompted the BJP decision last month to abstain from the vote of confidence sought by Mr Nitish after the JDU and the BJP broke their 17-year-long association citing differences over the elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP's 2014 campaign head.
Mr Nitish won the confidence vote.