BJP central leadership manages to mollify for now

New Delhi, May 14: The

central leadership today prevailed over sulking former

Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, who is demanding his reinstatement, and asked him to give up his threat of quitting from the Assembly along with his supporters.

Yeddyurappa's close associate Shobha Karandlaje, his emissary and MLC Lehar Singh and some MPs close to the former Chief Minister met BJP leader Arun Jaitley and party General Secretary Dharmendra Pradhan on May 14 to discuss the crisis in Karnataka.

Sources said the party has made it clear to Yeddyurappa that DV Sadananda Gowda will continue as Chief Minister of Karnataka. Yeddyurappa's prospects of getting reinstated have been further dimmed after the Supreme Court had ordered a CBI to probe the illegal mining cases against him.

Yeddyurappa has been asked to wait till he is cleared of the charges. He had to step down when the Karnataka Lokayukta had indicted him in a mining scam case.

The party leadership feels reinstating the Lingayat leader will blunt its fight against Congress-led UPA government on corruption plank. However, growing impatience of Yeddyurappa is a cause of worry for the party which feels he may spoil BJP's chances of coming back to power in the southern state.

Yeddyurappa had complained to the top leadership of the party that Sadananda Gowda, General Secretary HN Ananth Kumar and state unit Chief KS Eshwarappa had precipitated the present crisis as they were creating hurdles for him.

Sources said Yeddyurappa wanted Gowda to call a meeting of BJP Legislature party but the latter refused to do so.

PTI