No merger with BJP but will back NDA under Modi: BSY

Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has told the state executive meeting of his newly-floated Karnataka Janata Paksha that the merger with Bharatiya Janata Party has not materialised.

The Lingayat strongman walked out of the BJP after being compelled to quit the chief minister’s post over corruption charges and floated his own party ahead of the assembly election that witnessed Congress coming back to power in the southern state.

“We would not be thinking of a merger and would like to keep the identity of the KJP intact,” Yeddyurappa told his party colleagues in Bangalore on Thursday.

He, however, added that his party would support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance since it is being led by Narendra Modi now.‎

“We would remain an individual entity and support the NDA. There is also no question of me joining the BJP,” he pointed out.

Image: B S Yeddyurappa