| Yediyurappa sent his resignation to chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and BJP national president Rajnath Singh a day after former Union minister and BJP MP Basanagouda Patil Yatnal accused the deputy CM of nepotism and of running the BJP as a personal fiefdom. |
| The dramatic development forced Kumaraswamy to cut short his visit to New Delhi and return to Bangalore. Yediyurappa has reportedly even vacated his official residence. |
| "I am unhappy with the developments in the party. I am not above the party. The BJP leadership is free to announce my replacement," Yediyurappa reportedly stated in his resignation letter. |
| BJP state president Sadananda Gowda met Yediyurappa in the afternoon and advised him against tendering his resignation. However, Yediyurappa went ahead with his resignation. |
| Ever since the BJP joined hands with the JD(S) to form the government, the BJP camps headed by Yediyurappa and former Union minister Ananthkumar have been at loggerheads. Yatnal, who belongs to the Ananthkumar camp, first expressed his dissent when his supporters did not make it to the council of ministers. However, both the camps made peace after senior BJP leaders intervened. |
| Differences surfaced between the two again last week over the selection of candidates for elections to the Legislative Council from the Legislative Assembly segment. A delegation of the Ananthkumar camp even met Rajnath Singh in Mangalore last week and informed him of the widening rift in the party. |
| Yediyurappa's resignation is likely to affect the implementation of development works since he holds the portfolio of finance minister. |
| Sources said that Yediyurappa will eventually be "persuaded" by national level BJP leaders to withdraw his resignation. |
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