Venkaiah unhappy with veterans going public

Though analysts do not think the loss has diminished Mr Modi's clout in the party or grip on the government, they say it shows that all is not well in the BJP.

He refuted media reports that he had demanded action against the party veterans who questioned the BJP leadership after the party suffered a major defeat in the Bihar assembly elections. "They have said things against the strategy but not against Modi", union minister Venkaiah Naidu said.

Modi's failure to win enough seats for his party in Bihar despite being its star campaigner indicates a waning of his popularity, prompting senior leaders to ask for accountability. "It is a collective responsibility of all party office bearers and leaders", he said.

Sunday's loss in Bihar, India's third most populous and poorest state, comes after a similar defeat in Delhi and is the most significant setback for Modi since he won a crushing victory in a general election previous year.

Congress leader Manish Tewari echoing similar sentiments taunted the ruling party and said the elderly distinguished gentlemen have actually lit the crackers after putting it in a very special place in the BJP. "But once the remark was made and the way Lalu and Nitish made it an issue, The party became helpless", Thakur said.

Though finance minister Arun Jaitley met Joshi on Tuesday and Advani on Thursday, the reason was to invite the leaders to his daughter's wedding scheduled for next month and sources said there was "no discussion on the issue" regarding the statement the veterans had issued. Undoubtedly, the strategy of grand alliance (of JDU-RJD-Congress) had been proved better than ours.

As the BJP grappled with dissent by four party veterans, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today suggested that they should have raised their views at a party forum rather than going public. He faces five elections next year in regions where his party has failed to make inroads.

Reminding Advani that the party lost elections under his leadership, too, in the past, Gadkari asserted that "elections are fought as a party and nobody should be singled out for the defeat". The senior leaders, three of whom are Lok Sabha MPs, are seen to have given voice to those in the party who are wary of the style of functioning of the leadership.

USA magazine Forbes ranked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ninth on its list of the world's most powerful people for 2015, released on November 4.

The Minister said the BJP had always believed in inner party democracy and it was "unfair to say its consensual tradition is given a go-by".