The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is learnt to be considering the option of dissolving the Assembly if a sizeable number of its legislators attend the convention to be organised by rebel leader B.S. Yeddyurappa to mark his joining the Karnataka Janata Paksha in Haveri on December 9, compelling it to take a drastic decision.
According to sources, the party will be left with no option but to dissolve the House if a good number of MLAs identify themselves with Mr. Yeddyurappa, throwing up the question of stability of the government besides causing huge embarrassment to the party.
But a large number of Ministers are said to be lukewarm to the idea. Those opposing the dissolution are hoping that not many legislators would attend the rally.
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However, the BJP leadership, which held separate meetings of office-bearers, legislators, Ministers and MPs here on Saturday in the presence of party national general secretary and State in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, gave a stern message to the effect that it would not take kindly if any of them attended the Haveri convention.
They made it clear to them that the party would initiate disciplinary action if they attended the convention.
According to the sources, party leaders told them that Mr. Yeddyurappa was reluctant to remain in the BJP and that he had rejected all their offers.
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Saturday’s meetings was an effort to take the office-bearers, legislators and MPs into confidence, besides charting out the party’s political plans to prepare for the Assembly polls without Mr. Yeddyurappa.
In this regard, Mr. Pradhan is learnt to have told them not to lose heart if Mr. Yeddyurappa quits the party.
He reportedly gave the examples of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh where the party top leaders quit the organisation.
In Madhya Pradesh, the party remained stronger despite the quitting of key leaders, he pointed out and told the party Karnataka unit that it should bank on its party workers to come out of the crisis. He asked the party to get inspiration from the fact that there was a good response to the party’s district-level conventions held recently despite the absence of Mr. Yeddyurappa.
The meetings chalked out programmes to galvanise its organisation ahead of the polls. This included Assembly constituency-level protests against the failures of the UPA government before November 30 and Assembly constituency-level conventions of booth-level workers before December 30.