New Delhi:
Stepping up its attack on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has suffered a "loss of confidence" in dealing with problems facing his government, and called upon its cadres to ready for a possible early general election. The party also called for its cadres and leader to stand united so as to better take on the Congress-led government.
In a hard-hitting attack on the government at the end of its two-day national executive meeting, the BJP said there was "drift in governance" in the UPA.
"The government is in a suicidal mode, we don't need to disturb it," senior leader L.K. Advani said. Arun Jaitley added that he believed that the Prime Minister had always lacked authority. "There is also now lack of confidence in dealing with the situation."
However, glaring differences remain within the party on who should be its face as it gets set for the elections in 2014. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, whose path to the Centre seemed well in the works, may have a tougher road ahead than he may have foreseen.
A fortnight ago, Mr Modi had top BJP leaders including LK Advani with him. Just one tantrum later, Mr Modi stands isolated now. On October 11, Mr Advani, whose yatra Mr Modi tried to stop, and Nitish Kumar, who stopped Mr Modi from campaigning in Bihar, will be together, flagging Mr Advani's yatra.
Mr Modi skipped the two-day BJP national executive meet, reportedly unhappy over Mr Kumar flagging Mr Advani's yatra, which would showcase them as contenders for the job he is eyeing.
His supporters tried to set the tone for him. "Time dictates a man according to my opinion. It is very unusual for a human being to decide to have a say on what the future holds," said CP Thakur, BJP President, Bihar.
The party struck back. During the national executive, no leader made a phone call to Mr Modi, requesting him to come to the meet, and it was the first time in a decade when Mr Modi was not mentioned even once as a mascot of good governance. He also did not find any space in the party resolutions. Modi loyalists were warned against canvassing for him. Worse, party leaders sent him not-so-subtle hints - don't dream beyond Gujarat.
"There are a lot of problems in Gujarat, Modi should fix those first," said Vinay Katiyar, BJP vice president.
Mr Modi's exclusion has several reasons. He had challenged his mentor LK Advani. His unhappy party bosses and his rivals for the top job threw their weight behind Mr Advani's yatra and Mr Advani - who during the meet attacked Congress and spoke last, as the final arbiter in the party.
While Mr Modi is in a hurry to become the BJP's political face, his rivals ensured the leadership issue remains buried. His rivals used his absence to prove themselves more loyal, and presented a united front.
"Sushma had a meeting today and the outcome was that we need to learn from the mistakes of the Congress," said Arun Jaitley, senior BJP leader.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is okay with Mr Modi for the PM's job. But at the moment, Mr Modi is angry even with the RSS for pushing his bete noire, Sanjay Joshi, back into the BJP. Mr Joshi also attended the national executive meet.
The BJP seems to be sorely missing Atal Behari Vajpayee. With internal squabbles among the Gen-Next continuing to dog the party, it clearly seems unable to find a response to the 'who next' situation. The latest Modi episode has only reiterated that the party's leadership woes are far from over.