State BJP general secretary Gordhan Jhadaphia, however, contends that each of these are ``individual cases, where personal grouses were settled. They have nothing to do with the BJP as a party or in government''. He also insists that such incidents could not be regarded as instances of the criminalisation of politics.

Even if one accepts those arguments for argument's sake, it is undeniable that the BJP counts among its members Minister Purshottam Solanki, a TADA detainee named by the Srikrishna Commission in connection to the 1992 Mumbai riots and MLA Kantibhai Amrutia and Gangaram Tapu, both accused of murder.

If Solanki's admission to the party can be explained by his clout in Bhavnagar -- he won his seat and helped others do the same -- and the BJP's strategy to weaken the party's Enemy No. 1 Shankersinh Vaghela, among the other surprise entrants are former bootlegger Madhu Shrivastava and former policeman Jetha Bharwad, accused in the Sabarmati bomb blast conspiracy and a player in the Shehra poll violence. And, like Solanki, a Vaghela protege.

Though Jhadaphia insists the BJP government is better than the Congress's so far as law and order is concerned, and that ``even now, people at large are not affected'', party ideologue and senior leader Suryakant Acharya is bitter. ``Vaghela's revolt damaged the party fabric, but to counter him, the party propped up all kinds of people who could be influenced by lumpen non-BJP groups.''

Consider the case of Srivastava. As an Independent, he helped Vaghela overthrow the Suresh Mehta government on the assurance of being given prime, State-owned land on Old Padra Road, Vadodara. However, when the Vaghela government began the process of transferring the land, senior BJP leader Nalin Bhatt filed a public interest litigation challenging the move.

The case was still pending in Gujarat High Court when elections came along. The BJP made up with Srivastava to ensure party candidate Jayaben Thakkar retained the Vadodara seat.

When that was achieved, Srivastava put forward the same demand: Land. Bhatt withdrew the PIL and the BJP government attempted to allot him the land till its own minister Jaspal Singh threw a spanner in the works.

Incidentally, Singh lost his Food and Civil Supplies portfolio earlier this year after he refused to withdraw a Prevention of Black-marketing Act case against an Ahmedabad petrol-pump owner with high connections.

But for an encapsulated version of all that's wrong with the party, look no further than the Revashia case: murky politics, crass casteism and bad money. The death of one BJP man at the hands of two party colleagues, which triggered casteist allegations between their respective supporters, cast aspersions on the chief minister and gave rise to fears of another political murder found its echoes in the corridors of power, splitting the once close-knit party along caste lines.

``The BJP leaders have no control over their ranks, while well-meaning, senior people have been sidelined. This is because everyone is driven by power and its fringe benefits'', analyses Vaghela, who played a major role in bringing the BJP into the reckoning before being brushed aside.

``Earlier, the entire party would come together over the smallest issues; this was our strength, on the basis of which we were to build the model state'', says Acharya. The post-Vaghela damage control has not come about, and the wrong people continue to pull the strings, he admits.

The reason, he believes, is pure lethargy.