NEW DELHI: The BJP has sought to downplay reports of a “crisis” in its Karnataka unit, with senior party leader Arun Jaitley on Friday indicating that exaggerated reports of the Karnataka episode were being put out.
Gadkari had earlier on Friday said the party was united in the state, and Jaitley spoke on similar lines in Delhi later.
The thinking in the central leadership, sources say, is to buy time until the Udupi-Chikmagalur byelection gets over (the seat fell vacant after D V Sadananda Gowda resigned his Lok Sabha membership, upon assuming charge as chief minister).
Party president Nitin Gadkari left it for state leaders to deal with the festering problem of leadership, resulting out of B S Yeddyurappa’s restlessness to get his pound of flesh.
The view in the party brass in the capital is that although Yeddyurappa commands the support of a sizable number of MLAs in the party, “there cannot be any compromise in the names of ideology, and principles”.
This was underlined by Gadkari as well as Jaitley in Delhi.
Also, they also want to assure Yeddyurappa that he will get his due once he’s cleared of the corruption charges.
Gadkari referred to Yeddyurappa as “an important leader and face of the party in the state”.