Rival camps in the Karnataka unit of the BJP, one led by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the other by the Reddy brothers from Bellary who are seeking a change of leadership, put forth competing claims on MLAs’ support on Saturday, even as the scene on Saturday shifted to the Capital with state Home Minister V S Acharya and Karnataka Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar reaching Delhi. The Chief Minister is likely to come to Delhi on November 4 and the Reddy brothers may also be there by Sunday or Monday.

Acharya met BJP leaders in Delhi, including general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal. “The general perception is that good work is being done in the state, and as senior party leader Arun Jaitley has said, there would be no change in the leadership in the state. Other grievances can be considered though,” said Acharya. He is scheduled to meet Jaitley on Sunday.

In Bangalore, meanwhile, the Yeddyurappa group asserted that it had the support of 85 MLAs and that there would not be any leadership change. The Reddy group that is rallying around the candidature of Shettar — a Lingayat community leader like Yeddyurappa — as their chief minister claimed the support of 72 MLAs, “including as many as 34 claimed by the Yeddyurappa camp”.

Yeddyurappa also indicated his willingness for a patch-up. He said, “There were no differences with ministers and mining magnates Karunakara Reddy, Janardhana Reddy and their associates and Health Minister Sreeramulu who have been spearheading a campaign to oust me”. “If somebody has done anything in the grip of emotion...we can change our stand in the interest of the people and development...we can join hands,” he said.

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