Instead of healing the rift within the party, it made it worse, and in 1976 there was open confrontation between the two sides at public meetings.
After mediation by S. B. Patel and Jai Ram Reddy, differences between the two sides were patched over for the March 1977 elections.
The split reappeared after the election but this time with Jai Ram Reddy siding with the anti-Koya faction.
Ramrakha refused to accept Reddy's leadership and he and two of his supporters withdrew from the Flower faction and sat in the House as independents.
Prominent members of the Flower faction were Jai Ram Reddy, Irene Jai Narayan, K. C. Ramrakha, Harish Sharma, Anirudh Kuver, Hargovind Lodhia, Isikeli Nadalo, Sarvan Singh, Atunaisa Maitoga and Julian Toganivalu.