Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi/ Bangalore: The BJP's parliamentary board is meeting on Sunday. Reports said the board is likely to take a call on whether to replace Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda with Jagadish Shettar, whom former CM BS Yeddyurappa is backing for the top post.
The meeting follows fresh crisis in the state BJP, after nine ministers in the Gowda government quit on Friday, including Shettar, demanding a change in leadership.
Gowda has said he would not accept the resignations and appeared confident of overcoming the crisis, the BJP high command has decided to hold talks with party leaders and rebel ministers before arriving at any decision.
The BJP central leadership yesterday also deputed its emissary to resolve the crisis even as both the warring sides continued to cross swords.
The Yeddyurappa group intensified its attack on Gowda accusing him of being influenced by opposition JDS and not taking his ministers into confidence.
The party's in-charge of Karnataka affairs Dharmendra Pradhan held separate consultations with the ministers who tendered their resignation Friday evening in the stepped up oust Gowda campaign and the leaders in the Chief Minister's camp.
"I have met all important leaders of Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party," Pradhan told reporters after the meetings at the state party office. "We are inching towards early solution... Everything will be settled within the party."
Pradhan later drove to Yeddyurappa's residence and held discussions with the state BJP strongman who after having failed to get reinstated as chief minister has been targeting Gowda, a loyalist-turned foe, seeking his removal and projecting Shettar as the alternative.
The BJP high command has also summoned Gowda to New Delhi to resolve the crisis.
Gowda would fly to the national capital on July 2 and meet BJP president Nitin Gadkari, among other central leaders, to discuss the political crisis.
(With PTI inputs)
First Published: Sunday, July 01, 2012, 10:13