The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday put off its final decision on the power tussle in Karnataka.
During a meeting of BJP's central parliamentary board in New Delhi, it was decided that a final decision on the issue will be taken after party president Rajnath Singh meets Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H D Deve Gowda on October 5.
"We will take a final decision at the central parliamentary board meeting on October 6 after the two leaders meet. No other issue baring Karnataka was taken up during Thursday's meeting," Yashwant Sinha, incharge of Karnataka affairs, told media persons in New Delhi.
Rajnath Singh, leader of Opposition L K Advani and parliamentary board members attended Thursday's meeting, in which Karnataka BJP president Sadanand Gowda and chief ministerial candidate Yediyruppa were special invitees.
When asked why party general secretary Anant Kumar's name was coming up time and again as the saffron party's possible chief ministerial candidate, Sinha sprung up to the defence of Kumar stating that he had been supporting the candidature of Yediyruppa from the day since the power-sharing agreement between JDS and BJP was formed.
"Even before I reached Bangalore I requested him to be there and he was with me right through the negotiations," Sinha said.
Speaking to rediff.com, Kumar said he was being unfairly targetted by the media.
"I held two press conferences in Bangalore, where 200 journalists were present, but no one asked me this question. Here in Delhi I was made the target," he said.
When his attention was drawn to Chief Minister Kumaraswamy's statement that BJP had been conducting negotiations through the media, Sinha said if the party was being targetted when it was sharing information with the media and even when it was not. "Either way, we are trapped," he said.
He made it clear that if Kumaraswamy did not agree to step down, then BJP was ready for mid-term polls.Rajnath also rejected claims that the BJP was trying to break both Congress and JDS to form a new government.
"We are not engineering defections. But if people come on their own, it is something else," he said.
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