His increasingly outspoken criticism of the government not only widens the gap between them, it suggests he is prepared to put his own authority on the line. He claims that opening insurance to foreign investment goes against the provisions of the BJP's manifesto and the National Agenda for Governance. This is the ideological argument.

The implication that it was imprudent of the government to go ahead without any consultation whatsoever with the party is the political one. On the face of it, such statements sound like adeclaration of intent to defeat the government's insurance proposals.

As long as opposition was mainly confined to entities like the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Vishwa Hindu Parishad et al, saffron cousins who are not part of the immediate nuclear family, reform looked less threatened. The effect of the BJP president throwing his weight behind the opponents of reform is to isolate BJP ministers. Will this bring them back into line? Significant in this context are the remarks of Pramod Mahajan whose grasp of realpolitik is widely regarded as his chief virtue.

Hours after being elevated to the Union cabinet, he distanced himself from the cabinet decision to open up insurance and simultaneously asserted he would support the government's decision. Judging by that, one would have to assume the forces within the BJP are evenly balanced at the moment. Both sides, the organisational and ministerial, have offered ways out of a deepening of the confrontation. Thakre emphasises the need for structured party-governmentcoordination. The government has indicated its willingness to lower the bar for foreign entry. Compromise is possible but is sure to weaken the reformist impulse, such as it is, in the government.

Policy paralysis threatens to overwhelm the government more thoroughly than before. In demanding closer consultation, Thakre is echoing and reinforcing similar and long-standing demands from the BJP's allies. Whatever he manages to wrest from the ministerialists, Jayalalitha and Mamata will claim in equal measure. Power-sharing is very much the name of the game in all quarters. The BJP ministerial side has been definitely reluctant to develop workable mechanisms for policy coordination.

It now faces the prospect of juggling two separate self-willed coordination committees. Conflicts between governments and ruling party bosses are inevitable and most democracies experience them sooner or later. What is unusual about the present situation is the 18-cornered conflict and the fact that no one seems to have a clearnotion of how to manage it without damaging the government.