New Delhi, Bangalore:
With no end to the Karnataka crisis, the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership has now issued an ultimatum to rebels - accept the party line and B S Yeddyurappa as chief minister or face elections.
The party has meanwhile come up with a new formula to defuse the ongoing political crisis in the state.
The party will now form a coordination panel to discuss the issues, including the appointment of officials in Bellary district.
The BJP has also taken a decision to induct Karnataka Speaker Jagdish Shettar into the Cabinet, and drop Rural Development Minister Shobha.
The crisis within the BJP has been snowballing with the dissenting Reddy brothers of Bellary now claiming that they have the support of 52 MLAs who have sent in their resignation letters to them. This includes four Cabinet ministers. The rebels say no compromise is acceptable, and nothing short of a leadership change will end the crisis.
This comes after reports that 52 rebel MLAs faxed resignations to their leader Janardhan Reddy, who was in Delhi with Shettar for talks with the central leadership of the BJP.
However, Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa reportedly denied their resignation. The rebel MLAs supporting the Reddys against the chief minister are holed up in Hyderabad.
Venkaiah Naidu was also slated to meet party chief Rajnath Singh on Friday. All top BJP leaders would then meet at L K Advani's house.