Yeddyurappa to remain chief minister, rules Rajnath Singh

New Delhi, Nov 2 : Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa will remain in the post, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Monday stated, putting an end to the intense leadership tussle plaguing the party's first government in the south for the past few weeks.

Emerging from the BJP's Core Committee's meeting to decide on the leadership issue Monday evening, Singh said that Yeddyurappa would continue.

"Yes, he will," Singh told reporters in reply to a question whether Yeddyurappa will remain the chief minister.

The core committee meeting was attended by veteran leader L.K. Advani, party president Singh and general secretary Arun Jaitley.

Earlier in the day, G. Janardhana Reddy, the tourism minister and one of the Reddy brothers who is gunning to remove Yeddyurappa, met Jaitley and party MP Ananth Kumar in Delhi.

"Every legislator and MP put forward their viewpoints," general secretary Jaitley had told reporters here.

"Based on that we (Ananth Kumar and Jaitley) gave our report to the national leadership," Jaitley said after meeting Reddy.

The main demand of the Reddy brothers is to have a home minister in the state of their choice, withdrawal of abduction cases against them and revamping of the state administration.

The power tussle in the BJP's Karnataka unit saw prolonged negotiations between leaders of the rival camps and national leaders here Sunday.

Several legislators and MPs belonging to both camps - one supporting Yeddyurappa and the other favouring the Reddy brothers of Bellary - were in the capital.

Yeddyurappa supporters -- former MP Dhananjay Kumar and state Home Minister V.S. Acharya -- met Advani and party president Rajnath Singh Sunday.

Acharya and Kumar also called on RSS pointsman and BJP general secretary Ramlal earlier and claimed his support in favour of Yeddyurappa.

The Reddy brothers - ministers G. Janardhana Reddy and elder brother G. Karunakara Reddy (Revenue) - were lobbying to appoint assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar as the chief minister. Shettar, 53, is close to the brothers.

--IANS