Thaindian News

Bangalore, Feb 22 (IANS) Factional fighting in Karnataka’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party intensified Wednesday ahead of party president Nitin Gadkari’s arrival Thursday for a pep talk to partymen over morality and discipline.

Gadkari is to inaugurate the two-day ‘chintan-manthan’ or brainstorming session of the party leaders and legislators here Friday. The session has been called in the wake of involvement of three ministers in porn viewing in the assembly Feb 7. The three, Laxman Savadi, C.C. Patil and J. Krishna Palemar, quit the D.V. Sadananda Gowda ministry the next day.

The session is likely to be overshadowed by the infighting centred on efforts of scam-hit former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to head the government again.

He has called a meeting of his supporters in Bangalore Thursday to finalise the strategy to demonstrate to Gadkari the support he has in the party.

“I am personally inviting all our party leaders and legislators for the meeting tomorrow to discuss strengthening of the party,” Yeddyurappa, who quit July 31 over corruption charges, told reporters here.

Apprehending efforts by his detractors to marginalize him in the party, the 68-year-old BJP’s first chief minister in the south India, has been taking pot shots at his successor Sadananda Gowda and state BJP chief K.S. Eshwarappa.

“Gowda became chief minister because of luck,” Yeddyurappa said sarcastically Tuesday, indicating the growing divide in the party. In fact one of the conditions of Yeddyurappa to quit in July was that Gowda should be his successor.

Gowda played down the differences within the party while acknowledging that some issues were troubling the organisation.

“All differences will be resolved during the ‘chintan-mantha’ session,” he told reporters Wednesday.

He, however, hit back at Yeddyurappa saying there was no need for anybody in the party to prove his/her strength.

“Ours is not party based on individuals. Here party, not individual, is important,” Gowda said.