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Hours after former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa’s loyalists threatened the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) leadership with resignation by ten ministers, eight ministers resigned from the government, plunging the DV Sadananada Gowda led government into fresh crisis. Yeddyurappa faction has been demanding Gowda’s ouster and want Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagdish Shettar to take over the chief ministership of Karnataka. The Chief Minister’s strategy reportedly depends upon the party high command, and no decision on the resignations has been taken so far. Earlier, Yeddyurappa loyalist and BJP MLA B.P. Harish claimed that ten ministers, including Umesh Katti, Murugesh Nirani, CM Udasi and MP Renukacharya, would hand over their resignation letters to Gowda this evening. Interacting with reporters, Harish had said, “Ten ministers will resign this evening. Our decision is steadfast.” The faction demanded that the party's central leadership take a call on their demand today itself, while the central leadership has made it clear that the issue of leadership change will be addressed after the presidential elections. Ministers loyal to Yeddyurappa today held strategic meetings at the residence of Jagadish Shettar. In-charge of the party's Karnataka Affairs, Dharmendra Pradhan said in New Delhi that there is no question of replacing Gowda for now as he is “doing a good job”. B. P. Harish, on Thursday, had said that the change of guard might take place as early as 1st or 2nd of next month. “I think 1st or 2nd (July) next month,” Harish said, when asked about the probable timing of the change in leadership. The BJP core group met at party president Nitin Gadkari’s residence in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss the Karnataka crisis. Yeddyurappa, who led BJP to victory in Karnataka in 2008, was compelled to quit as state chief in July 2011 after the Lokayukta report indicted him for illegal mining and for his alleged role in irregularities of allotment of land.

Karnataka Govt in fresh crisis, eight ministers resign