Patna:
BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha tried to propitiate his party today for his endorsement earlier this week of Nitish Kumar for Prime Minister, a vote of confidence that earned him a multitude of rebukes from his colleagues.
"I have given all my statements in favour of party. I have been in BJP from a long time. I'm not worried, I have not said anything wrong," Mr Sinha.
But in his constituency of Patna Sahib, in Patna, a passel of posters that declared Mr Sinha "missing" has expanded the controversy. The posters declare they are issued by the Youth Congress and "common voters" but sources say they have actually been purveyed by BJP workers seething over the MP's praise for the Bihar Chief Minister.
In June, the BJP was evicted from the Bihar government after Mr Kumar called off a 17-year partnership. He blamed the BJP for selecting Narendra Modi to lead its national campaign, seen by many as a segue to the party's prime ministerial nomination.
Mr Sinha is within the BJP considered to be a part of a guild headed by veteran LK Advani and opposed to the ascension of Mr Modi.
But BJP sources say that party chief Rajnath Singh has determined that Mr Modi shall be declared the presumptive prime minister before September, when five important states vote.
The decision has reportedly been approved by the BJP's powerful ideological mentor, the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)
The party hopes to appropriate Mr Modi's popularity to its advantage in these state elections.