Jaitley on troubleshooting mission to Karnataka from Friday

Bangalore: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Central leadership is deputing a two-member team including its senior leader Arun Jaitley to defuse the crisis that has besieged the ruling party in Karnataka in the wake of revolt by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

Jaitley accompanied by Dharmendra Pradhan, who is also in-charge of BJP affairs in Karnataka, will arrive in Bangalore on Friday and during their two-day stay will interact with leaders including Yeddyurappa over the recent crisis, which the BJP has managed to douse temporarily.

State BJP president K S Eshwarappa confirmed the visit of the two leaders but did not elaborate.

Jaitley accompanied by Dharmendra Pradhan, who is also in-charge of BJP affairs in Karnataka, will arrive in Bangalore on Friday.

Yeddyurappa, who had threatened to quit BJP, however postponed the decision on May 14 heeding to a call by Jaitley not to precipitate the crisis.

The BJP has timed its crisis defusing exercise when Yeddyurappa has come under CBI probe in connection with illegal mining and trying to assure the Lingayat community leader that the party will be with him in this hour of crisis.

The demand for convening legislature party meeting by Yeddyurappa and his loyalist MLAs and Ministers would also be discussed, sources said.

The Yeddyurappa camp has been demanding the ouster of Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, accusing him of being hand in glove with JDS leaders, but the central leadership seems to be in no mood to accept it.

Yeddyurappa, who claims that he has in his possession the resignation letters of nine ministers and 53 MLAs, had said he would take a call on his future plans "at an appropriate time".

BJP is trying to end the internal squabbles and gear up for the assembly elections to be held in 2013.

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