Bangalore:
The festering crisis in ruling BJP in Karnataka remained unresolved on Saturday. The party's central leadership is working overtime to thrash out a formula that will include changes in the cabinet, but the rebellious Reddy brothers continue to be unrelenting.
Under the formula being worked out, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa would not be changed and none other than Assembly Speaker Jagdish Shettar, the rallying point of rebels demanding the ouster of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, would be inducted in the cabinet.
During the negotiations with the Reddy brothers Janardhan and Karunakar, the mining magnates of Bellary, the central leadership is said to have made it clear that there would also be no Deputy Chief Minister.
Sources said the leadership also conveyed to the dissidents that nobody else would be dropped from the ministry after the resignation of Yeddyurappa's trusted minister Shobha Karandlaje (Rural Development). "It was also conveyed to the dissident camp that Home Minister V S Acharya will not be removed", a senior leader, who is keeping a close watch on the situation, said.
Sources said while the central leadership did not favour any encouragement to the dissident camps but at the same time since the majority for BJP in 224-member Karnataka assembly was thin, they could not be antagonised. BJP has 117 MLAs in the 224 member assembly.