Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha, who is in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, briefed the top party leadership about the crisis in the state following the suspension of talks between the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) about the impending power transfer in the state.

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani, BJP president Rajnath Singh, leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were also present at the meeting.

JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda had flown to Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the transfer of power with Singh and Advani. The former prime minister demanded that the BJP take action against Karnataka Tourism Minister Sriramulu, who had alleged that chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had tried to kill him.

According to BJP sources, the allegation against the chief minister is part of the party's pressure tactics to force him to transfer power. According to the power-sharing agreement between the BJP and the JD (S) during the formation of the government, Kumaraswamy has to hand over the reins of the state to the BJP on October 3.

The BJP top brass is trying to decide on whether to send a delegation to Karnataka to sort out the differences between the two allies.