Unfortunately for Prime Minister Modi who declared at the end of one year in office that his regime was scam free, troubles began soon after. The Congress has found yet another route to train its gun on the Modi government. The Congress is emboldened to attack them for what it calls scams and has lined up Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra on its scanner. The BJP is already facing embarrassment in the Lalitgate involving the two high profile women leaders- Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and External affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj -for their role in helping the Ex- IPL chief Lalit Modi, a fugitive living in London since 2010.

Take the case of Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, which is fast getting the national as well as the Apex court attention. Apart from money, what is alarming is the mysterious murder of more than forty people connected with Vyapam and the number is growing. Ironically every death in the past few days is seen as a Vyapam murder. Although the BJP initially took a brazen stand that the High Court monitored inquiry was going on, ultimately Chauhan has decided to go for the CBI inquiry coming under pressure from his party as well as the opposition. This has put the lid, at least for the time being. However, Chauhan is not out of the firing line as the Congress continues to demand a Supreme Court monitored probe as well as resignation of Chauhan alleging his own family’s involvement in the scam assuming alarming proportions damaging the BJP in the state as well as the Modi government at the Centre. His detractors within also will not rest until he is out.

The second under attack is the Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh in the Rs 3600 crore PDS scam. The party has charged Raman Singh and his wife in the multi- crore scam even as the Congress has launched a campaign to expose the chief minister who was boasting about his good PDS system, which made him earn the name “Chawal Baba.” Now the Congress is finding leaks in the PDS system strengthened by a raid by the state anti corruption bureau in March when some babus were caught red handed with a cash of Rs 4 crores with pen drives and diaries, which revealed the names of the list of beneficiaries sharing the loot. The raid has opened up a can of worms and the Congress has taken to streets demanding the resignation of the chief minister.

The third is Rajasthan where the chief minister Vasundhara Raje is under fire for her role in helping the ex-IPL chief Lalit Modi. The Rajasthan PCC has been demanding her resignation pointing out that she had committed constitutional impropriety. Moreover, Lalit Modi’s business deals with her son Dushyant has also come into question. Vasundhara Raje is digging in her heels and the Central leadership of the BJP is in a dilemma.

Next in line is the Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Phadnavis, who has come under fire even before completing one year in office. Corruption charges have surfaced against two of his ministers – Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde. Both face irregularities in awarding contracts. The BJP is twiddling its thumb as to how to deal with these charges while it is busy dealing with the tantrums of its ally Shiv sena. Obviously the Sena is unhappy with the BJP ignoring the Sena ministers.

In this background party insiders wonder whether there is a BJP versus BJP fight brewing internally. First of all, Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chauhan are mass leaders. While these two are low profile chief ministers, Raje is a high profile leader with a mass base and backing of the state unit. Naturally there are dissidents in all these states who are activated at this point of time. Secondly except Fadnavis who was handpicked by Modi, the other three are not known as Modi’s favorites. Therefore no tears will be shed if they are eased out sooner or later.

Chauhan was touted as his rival before the 2014 polls and was propped by the anti Modi group led by Mr. L.K. Advani. Raje has her own place in the party and so has Raman Singh who is a Rajput. At the central level also some party insiders see the present embarrassment as a result of squabbles within the BJP. While Transport minister Nitin Gadkari gave a clean chit to Raje, Home Minister Rajnath Singh backed Chauhan by stating there was no need for a CBI probe into the Vyapam scam. On the other hand, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought an unbiased probe. These conflicting signals confuse the party.

The Congress led opposition is overjoyed at these contradictions and want to make use to fix the Modi government. The Congress has activated its state units for a street fight but it all depends on how long it can sustain the momentum and how the BJP counters the attacks. (IPA Service)