Patna:
With ally Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar virtually signing divorce papers, the BJP in Bihar is speaking with the vengeance of a party scorned.
"Let this relationship end sooner rather than later. Our workers want the confusion to end," said Vikram Keur, a BJP state legislator.
Sources in the BJP say that while its top leaders will remain diplomatic and speak of working out differences in the coalition, it has green-lit coarser talk from its legislators.
Mr Kumar's party, the Janata Dal United or JDU, isn't holding back either. This morning, Narendra Singh, a JDU minister, attacked BJP leader Narendra Modi, who was recently chosen to lead its election campaign. "They have given the leadership in the hands of a tainted person. They want to continue with their fundamentalist politics. JDU will not tolerate this," he said.
Like Mr Modi's other detractors, the JDU says that Mr Modi did not do enough to prevent hundreds of Muslims from being killed during the communal riots in his state in 2002.
The JDU needs the support of Bihar's Muslims- 15% of the population -to remain in power.
Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP, who is Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister said, "If there are any struggles in the coalition, we will strive to do away with them."
But signalling the determination of his party to end attempts to undermine Mr Modi, he added, "Under (Narendra) Modi's leadership, the BJP will scale new heights."
In Delhi, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain added at a press conference, "If we are together, then we will rule. If we aren't, we will not be able to live up to the people's expectations."
In the Bihar Assembly, the math is loaded in favour of Mr Kumar. The JDU needs the support of just four legislators to remain in power. Independents could ally with the party to keep it in a majority.
In the national elections, 40 parliamentary seats will be up for grabs. Both the JDU and the BJP have said that they will contest those separately, if needed.