Will KS Eshwarappa part ways with BJP?

BENGALURU: The cold war between senior BJP leaders BS Yeddyurappa and KS Eshwarappa seems to have deepened with speculation rife that the latter could quit the party and join the Janata Dal (S).
BJP sources said Eshwarappa held talks with JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda about joining the party but laid down certain conditions.
However, Deve Gowda said, “No such thing has happened.”
While Eshwarappa was unavailable for comment, his followers in the BJP said he’s unlikely to take such a drastic step as he has served the party for more than four decades.“Our national leaders will not let him go easily,” they added
After his public statement (that his newly floated Sangolli Rayanna Brigade would stop campaigning for Yeddyurappa to instal him as the next CM) had created ripples across political parties. Sources said senior party leaders complained to top leaders and sought immediate action to bring some semblance of discipline to the party ahead of the 2018 assembly polls.
Over the past few months, Eshwarappa met Gowda several times to seek his support if he decided to contest from Bhadravathi or Tirthahalli where the Vokkaliga population is in large numbers. He told Gowda he’d join the JD(S) if he was expelled from the BJP and offered the support of the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade.
Sources said Gowda is also keen on Eshwrappa as he intends to correct the perception of his party being anti-Kuruba, the community to which Eshwarappa belongs. After the untimely demise of A Krishnappa in 2014, the JD(S) is desperately looking for a leader from the community.