Infighting grips India's main opposition

NEW DELHI - Dissension and infighting are plaguing India's main opposition, the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), eroding its credibility as a viable alternative to the ruling Congress as talk of early national elections gather pace.

Not only has the BJP failed to take advantage of the troubles of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's coalition but has also virtually ceded the opposition space to social activists who are taking on the government on corruption and mismanagement.

Its leaders have been attacking each other openly with some top leaders, including its president Mr Nitin Gadkari, stand accused of corruption.

Indeed, the party's only political strategy has been to block legislative business by disrupting parliament. "The BJP is now like a headless chicken, running helter-skelter, directionless," Mr. Amulya Ganguli, an independent political commentator, told The Straits Times. "It does not present the picture of a coherent, purposeful opposition that can be considered as a viable political alternative."