Ahmedabad:
The dissent within the BJP in Gujarat against Narendra Modi is a new stress-test for the party - the state votes for its next government later this year. Mr Modi, one of the BJP's tallest leaders, has been attacked for being autocratic by other prominent BJP leaders in Gujarat , rallied together by his old rival and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel.
Signs of the chasm within the BJP were on display on Tuesday - posters appeared across Ahmedabad praising Sanjay Joshi, who has incurred Mr Modi's wrath. The posters do not name Mr Modi but are critical of Mr Joshi's detractors. Mr Joshi was asked to resign from the party six years ago over a sleaze CD. He was re-inducted by BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who, like Mr Joshi, enjoys the confidence of the BJP's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS.
Last month, Mr Modi refused to attend a meeting of senior BJP leaders in Mumbai till Mr Joshi resigned from the party's national executive. Within hours of that happening, Mr Modi altered his itinerary to fly into Mumbai where he was given a hero's welcome by party workers.
A recent editorial in the BJP magazine, the Kamal Sandesh, offered a harsh assessment of Mr Modi and other state leaders like BS Yeddyurappa of Karnataka and Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan. The article did not mention the leaders, but warned that no leader should consider himself or herself bigger than the party. In an apparent reference to Mr Modi, it said, "People who attain heights should raise the level of their thoughts...it's been seen, people who attain heights glare down at people below them."
Last month, Mr Patel and other Gujarat BJP leaders like Suresh Mehta held a meeting that was designed to convey their growing impatience with Mr Modi's leadership. Sources said that the BJP is concerned about a possible split in the party.