Patna, Aug 5 (IANS): Bihar's ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces an in-house revolt with several of its upper-caste leaders accusing Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, an icon of backwards, of trying to turn the party into his pocket-borough.

Gopal Narayan Singh, former state BJP president, Thursday targeted Modi saying: "Most of the people inducted into the state election committee are his (Modi's) men."

Modi has "sidelined others to ensure maximum number of tickets for his own men", said Singh who is considered an influential Rajput face of BJP after party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy in the caste-ridden state.

Singh threatened to launch "Save BJP" campaign in the state if the party leadership in New Delhi failed to intervene soon to protect the interests of party workers.

Earlier, former minister Chandra Mohan Rai and Bollywood actor-turned-MP Shatrughan Sinha had questioned Modi's style of functioning to control the party in the state. Rai is a Bhumihar and Sinha a Kayasth, both upper-castes.

Several leaders of both the communities are unhappy with Modi for excluding Rai, Sinha and other senior partymen from the state election committee.