Vijayendra’s supporters cancel Wednesday’s meeting that was to be show of strength

Close on the heels of the BJP high command taking a stern stand on internal tussle in the party’s Karnataka unit, supporters of party State president B.Y. Vijayendra have called off their meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

The supporters of Mr. Vijayendra had made arrangements to hold a meeting of prominent leaders in Bengaluru on Wednesday as a show of strength at a time when they were being attacked by party rebel leaders who had sought the ouster of the State president.

However, after the central leadership sent a message to both the rival camps on Monday — by issuing a show-cause notice to rebel leader Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal and putting on hold the appointment of Chickballapur district unit president — supporters of Mr. Vijayendra announced that the meeting had been cancelled as per the instructions of the State president.

Announcing this to media persons in Bengaluru on Tuesday, M.P. Renukacharya, former Minister and prominent member of the Vijayendra camp, said henceforth they would not hold any such separate meetings. He expressed confidence that Mr. Vijayendra would be continued as the State president and that the problems in the party State unit would get resolved in about a week.

Referring to the party central leadership putting on hold the appointment of B. Sandeep — who is said to be a close aide of Mr. Vijayendra — as Chickballapur district unit president, he maintained that the State president would not have any role in the election of district unit presidents.

Meanwhile, BJP MP and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai expressed confidence that all issues in the party State unit would be sorted out within a few days by the high command. “The party high command has intervened now as there was a need for it and hence all these problems are bound to end within a few days,” he said.

Factionalism gripping the BJP State unit for a year reached a flashpoint in the last 15 days with the rebel group taking exception to the manner in which the election to 23 district units was conducted. They had alleged that Mr. Vijayendra had manipulated the process to get his close aides elected as district presidents so that they could later elect him as State president when the election for this post would be held. They had even visited Delhi twice to demand a replacement of Mr. Vijayendra. Supporters of Mr. Vijayendra, meanwhile, had demanded action against rebels.