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will speak to both factions.”

The party won 17 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and believes the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah was battling antiincumbency . It appointed Yeddyurappa as the state chief and later named him the chief ministerial candidate.

This, however, triggered a feud within the BJP with Eshwarappa revolting against Yeddyurappa.

The feud started after Yeddyurappa appointed his confidant S Rudregowda as the president of the BJP in Shimoga district. Rudregwoda contested the 2013 assembly election on the ticket of Karnataka Janta Party, an outfit floated by Yeddyurappa when he quit the BJP, and secured more votes than Eshwarappa. Yeddyurappa returned to the BJP and his loyalists got prominence after he was appointed Karnataka BJP chief.