AHMEDABAD: Once comrades-in-arms have now turned foes. A BJP worker from Maninagar, who shares his first name with chief minister Narendra Modi learnt this the hard way at Vishwa Hindu Parishad ( VHP ) office in Paldi.

The growing tension between BJP and VHP erupted in a fight between its members. Narendra Kholia, a BJP worker, was beaten up by angry VHP members following a heated argument over the CM’s redcarpet welcome to Muslims at the recently-concluded Sadbhavana Mission.

Kholia has lodged a police complaint at Ellisbridge police station against VHP worker Alpesh Patel. While BJP’s rank and file worked overtime to woo Muslims to Modi’s fast, VHP had stayed away from the three-day event. When Kholia, who works part-time for VHP’s magazine, went to its office on Thursday evening, he found workers there criticising Modi’s newfound affection for minorities.

The BJP worker defended the CM’s move saying it was time people moved on. “Many VHP workers there told Kholia that they were disillusioned as they supported BJP during the elections because of the party’s hardline Hindutva agenda. Now, the BJP under Modi was singing a different tune,” said a VHP worker. Some senior VHP workers asked an injured Kholia to leave. Kaushik Mehta, general secretary of VHP (Gujarat), confirmed that members had come to blows with Kholia. However, he was quick to add that it was a fight between two individuals.