Janardhana Reddy sticks to his stand

The dissident leader hopes the party top brass will take the right decision for a "better leadership" in Karnataka.

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa is seen with Tourism Minister Janardhan Reddy during the launch of the online booking for Golden Chariot, at Yeshwanthpur station, Bangalore. File photo: K. Murali Kumar

As the BJP high command grapples with the crisis in Karnataka, dissident leader G. Janardhana Reddy on Friday stuck to his demand for a “better leadership” in the state and expressed the hope that the party top brass will take the right decision.

“They (BJP Central leaders) will take the right and correct decision in the interest of the party,” Mr. Reddy told reporters after meeting senior leader Sushma Swaraj.

Maintaining that his campaign was aimed at betterment of the state, the party and its workers, he hoped the issue would be resolved in two to three days.

The Reddy camp claimed that majority of the MLAs want a better leadership.

Sources close to Reddy said he had received resignations of 53 BJP MLAs from Karnataka.

After meeting Ms. Swaraj, he met senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa transferred his Principal Secretary V P Baligar, whose removal was one of the prime demands of the dissident camp.

Ms. Baligar has been posted as Principal Secretary, Industries department and I S N Prasad has replaced him as Secretary to the Chief Minister.