BANGALORE: The crisis in the state BJP deepened on Friday as the two-day Chinthan Shibir organised to hammer out the differences in the state unit ended abruptly.
The meeting, which was inaugurated by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and attended by stalwarts, including Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, state party chief K S Eshwarappa and party national general secretary Ananth Kumar, folded up after Gadkari’s address.
The Shibir was originally organised to sink differences within the party, work out strategies to fight the Udupi- Chikmagalur Lok Sabha byelections and to improve the party’s image, which was hit after three BJP ministers were caught watching porn in the Assembly.
The Shibir, which came after the meeting organised by Yeddyurappa on Thursday in which he had sent a strong signal to the central party leaders for his rehabilitation, was expected to be stormy as supporters of the former chief minister were expected to raise the issue.
The meeting, however, proved to be a damp squib as organisers announced that the camp was over immediately after Gadkari’s address, where he reportedly stressed on the need to maintain unity and discipline.
Party sources also informed that Gadkari, in his 90-minute address, did not mention any possibilities of a change in leadership in the state BJP and also sought to drive home the importance of improving the party’s image and sink differences if any, much to the delight of Yeddyurappa’s detractors.