Presented with a golden opportunity to tame the Reddys, the BJP national leadership has decided to press hard to ensure a smooth ride for the new chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda.

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BJP national president Nitin Gadkari who held a meeting with Sadananda Gowda and his predecessor BS Yeddyurappa in Nagpur on Tuesday conveyed the party’s strategy to the duo in no uncertain terms that the party would do everything possible to rid the party of the mining taint heaped on it by the Reddys and would not tolerate any act of groupism that could destabilise the Gowda government.

The BJP game-plan now is not only to curb the influence of Reddys in state politics, but also rein in Yeddyurappa, whose supporters recently embarrassed the chief minister by stating that Sadananda Gowda was not capable of leading the party to victory in the forthcoming by-polls to Koppal assembly constituency.

According to sources, the party has decided to convince former health minister B Sriramulu to withdraw his resignation from the assembly.

The party has decided not to rush to Janardhana Reddy’s assistance in a hurry as the leadership wants to wait and watch the course of legal proceedings against the Reddys.

The arrest has already brought some relief to Sadananda Gowda as Sriramulu has deferred his Swabhimana Yatra which had been chalked out to get at least two berths in the cabinet for Reddy followers.

Riding on the sudden turn of the tide, Gadkari is said to have done some tough talking to Yeddyurappa too, asking him to scrap his ambitions, if any, to lead BJP’s campaign in Koppal by-election.

Gowda and Yeddyurappa arrived in Bangalore later in the evening on Tuesday. “We had elaborate discussions on the arrest of Janardhana Reddy, Sriramulu’s resignation and other recent developments. I am confident of convincing Sriramulu to withdraw his resignation,” Gowda said.

The chief minister also declared that Koppla by-poll would be fought under the collective leadership of the party, making it clear that Yeddyurappa’s supporters in the party would have to abandon their plans of once again projecting their boss as the supreme leader in the state.

Gadkari is said to have assured Gowda that the national leadership would not encourage any challenge to his leadership in the state and wanted him to concentrate fully on the development agenda.