New Delhi:
The crisis in the Karnataka unit of the BJP is far from over. Rebel leader Janardhan Reddy has met senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. Before the meeting, Reddy again reiterated that there was no change in stand.
Bellary's powerful Reddy brothers want Chief Minister Yeddyurappa replaced and have clearly stated that they won't settle for anything less than CM change. The Reddy brothers have also said they want a CM like Narendra Modi.
"I am firm with my demand... we need better leadership... no one has told me from the party that there will be no change." With that one sentence, Janardhan Reddy dismissed any optimism the BJP harboured overnight of finding a temporary truce to its war in Karnataka on Tuesday.
That war, like so many recent ones for the BJP, has the party fighting itself. In Karnataka, the only Southern state where it's in power, it stands virtually split down the middle. The powerful Reddy brothers, mining barons from Bellary, and cabinet ministers, have made it their business to get the chief minister sacked. They accuse him of being dictatorial. Critics of Janardhan and Karunakara Reddy say they want to influence government policies that could help their mining empire. The party high command, for now, is backing the chief minister, BS Yeddyurappa. Both camps claim to have 60-odd MLAs on their side.
Janaradhan Reddy, since Monday, has been in Delhi, meeting various central party leaders from Arun Jaitley to Sushma Swaraj asking for a new chief minister.
On Monday night, BJP sources said that a compromise appeared within grasp. The Reddy brothers would be asked to end their attack against Yeddyurappa. In return, several key officers close to the chief minister would be dismissed. Party president Rajnath Singh indicated there would be no change in leadership.
With Janardhan Reddy rejecting that notion, the party is likely to devote its Tuesday to more negotiations. In Karnataka, supporters of the chief minister have been showing up at his Bangalore residence - an apparent show of strength for anyone who's watching.
On Monday, chief minister Yeddyurappa issued a formal apology to his state. "In the backdrop of the happenings, as Chief Minister, I apologise to the people of the state. We will take care to see such incidents don't take place in future and will work unitedly for the people's welfare," he had said.
His comments came in the wake of reports that many MLAs and ministers loyal to rebel ministers from Bellary district - G Karunakara Reddy, G Janardhan Reddy and B Sreeramulu - seeking Yeddyurappa's ouster, camped in Hyderabad and Goa, when they should have been attending to grievances of people, suffering after the recent unprecedented floods.
Bellary's powerful Reddy brothers want Chief Minister Yeddyurappa replaced and have clearly stated that they won't settle for anything less than CM change. The Reddy brothers have also said they want a CM like Narendra Modi.
"I am firm with my demand... we need better leadership... no one has told me from the party that there will be no change." With that one sentence, Janardhan Reddy dismissed any optimism the BJP harboured overnight of finding a temporary truce to its war in Karnataka on Tuesday.
That war, like so many recent ones for the BJP, has the party fighting itself. In Karnataka, the only Southern state where it's in power, it stands virtually split down the middle. The powerful Reddy brothers, mining barons from Bellary, and cabinet ministers, have made it their business to get the chief minister sacked. They accuse him of being dictatorial. Critics of Janardhan and Karunakara Reddy say they want to influence government policies that could help their mining empire. The party high command, for now, is backing the chief minister, BS Yeddyurappa. Both camps claim to have 60-odd MLAs on their side.
Janaradhan Reddy, since Monday, has been in Delhi, meeting various central party leaders from Arun Jaitley to Sushma Swaraj asking for a new chief minister.
On Monday night, BJP sources said that a compromise appeared within grasp. The Reddy brothers would be asked to end their attack against Yeddyurappa. In return, several key officers close to the chief minister would be dismissed. Party president Rajnath Singh indicated there would be no change in leadership.
With Janardhan Reddy rejecting that notion, the party is likely to devote its Tuesday to more negotiations. In Karnataka, supporters of the chief minister have been showing up at his Bangalore residence - an apparent show of strength for anyone who's watching.
On Monday, chief minister Yeddyurappa issued a formal apology to his state. "In the backdrop of the happenings, as Chief Minister, I apologise to the people of the state. We will take care to see such incidents don't take place in future and will work unitedly for the people's welfare," he had said.
His comments came in the wake of reports that many MLAs and ministers loyal to rebel ministers from Bellary district - G Karunakara Reddy, G Janardhan Reddy and B Sreeramulu - seeking Yeddyurappa's ouster, camped in Hyderabad and Goa, when they should have been attending to grievances of people, suffering after the recent unprecedented floods.
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