Yeddyurappa said he resigned as Chief Minister following the direction of the party high-command last year as the "disciplined soldier" of the party. "They mistook my goodness as a weakness".

He said he would formally join the Karnataka Janatha Paksha at a public rally in Haveri on December nine. Yeddyurappa urged MLAs and Ministers in the Jagadish Shettar Cabinet supporting him not to resign as he wants the Government to complete its full term and he does not want to rock the boat. "I have asked them not to resign for the time being", he said.

Yeddyurappa said he is not leaving BJP for any selfish reason. He wants to develop Karnataka as a model and welfare state.

The 70-year-old Lingayat leader is credited with bringing BJP to power in Karnataka, making it the first ever party government in the south. Efforts by top BJP leadership to prevent the exit of Yeddyurapa have failed.

He turned more belligerent after BJP rebuffed his repeated attempts to regain Chief Ministership and refused to at least make him the state unit party chief.