Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) cadres on Thursday reportedly did not agree to a move for a KJP merger with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and instead, favoured an alliance with any political party other than the Congress.
These views were expressed at a meeting of office-bearers of the KJP called by its president and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to elicit opinion on the issue. Mr. Yeddyurappa, it is said, had been responding positively to a move in the BJP inviting him for a rejoining.
KJP office-bearers from the districts are learnt to have appealed to Mr. Yeddyurappa not to “kill his own baby”. The cadres are said to have told him that the workers had had a fierce political fight at the ground level while building the party and it would be difficult to manage the situation in the event of a merger.
Later, Mr. Yeddyurappa said that there was no question of a KJP merger with the BJP. However, the party is open to an alliance or a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP or any other political party except the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
Mr. Yeddyurappa told reporters that though BJP leaders, including its national president Rajnath Singh, were making efforts to get him to rejoin the party, he was yet to decide.
