In Karnataka, the BJP legislative party meeting that was scheduled on Friday evening to elect Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s successor was cancelled. Central BJP observers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley held series of meetings with the party MLAs. On Friday evening they met Yeddyurappa at his official residence. Sources in the BJP said, that some MLAs and MPs have expressed their desire to retain Yeddyurappa as their leader in the state. But BJP party observer for Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan said the Parliamentary Board decision seeking the resignation of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is final and the change in leadership will be smooth. He denied that parallel meetings were being held in the city and factionism had crept in to the party.The legislative party meeting that was scheduled on Friday is said to be re-scheduled on Saturday. The sources in the BJP party say that party High Command is insisting on the resignation of Yeddyurappa first, before heeding to his demands. Openly nobody is willing to say anything about the efforts to elect their new leader. In another development Revenue Minister G. Karunakar Reddy met Governor Hamsaraj Bharadwaj to explain his position in the background of Lokayuktha report indicting him for illegal mining. He has defended himself saying that the Obalapuram Mining Company named by the report is not owned or managed by him as he resigned from its Board in 2004.