In order to pacify the dissidents, the party's central leadership had to replace Bandi Sanjay Kumar with Union Minister G Kishan Reddy as state president of the BJP.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
Sources within the Congress, including those who have been members of the teams that drafted its 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha poll manifestos, said the Karnataka government decision lacked any empirical basis.
A new cabinet in the state will be in place in the next 48-72 hours.
Accusing the BJP of working to 'divide India and spread hate and violence', he asserted that a fight of ideologies is going on in India.
The Prime Minister's charge comes a day after former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi addressed a campaign rally at Hubballi on Saturday.
The Karnataka election is being seen as the semi-final to the 2019 general elections and appears to be heading towards a close fight
"You are made to read lies, so please don't read it," BJP members said.
Amit Shah wants to increase the party's nationwide vote share by at least 10 per cent from the 37.7 per cent it secured five years ago and ensure above 50 per cent vote share in the states where it came close to that benchmark, but couldn't cross it.
At a press conference in Bengaluru on Saturday the Congress played an audio clip, claiming that the BJP candidate from Chittapur Manikanth Rathod used derogatory language for Kharge and could be heard talking about eliminating him and his family.
Shivakumar also claimed that the BJP wanted to call for elections in Karnataka soon after the 2022 Gujarat poll results were out but backtracked on the move.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Bengaluru, Bommai said he held a meeting with Nadda on Wednesday on the matter.
It also promised to launch the 'Poshane' scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre 'Nandini' milk every day and five kg 'Shri Anna - siri dhanya' through monthly ration kits.
Union minister Bhupender Yadav, who led the BJP delegation, told reporters that Kharge's comment was not merely a slip of the tongue but part of the Congress' "hate politics".
The results in Karnataka were declared on May 13 but the party has not finalised its chief ministerial face yet and the process of consultations is on.
"A new era of development will start from now onwards," said BJP's Karnataka president B S Yeddyurappa soon after the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government lost the confidence vote.
Janata Dal-Secular leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday hinted that his party was interested in the agriculture portfolio in the new National Democratic Alliance government.
The Bharat Ratna for him comes nine years after the honour was bestowed on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The two leaders together spearheaded the journey of the Jana Sangh and then the BJP for over five decades.
Many in the party feel it has played a critical role in boosting the Congress' electoral fortunes in the state and its impact is there for everyone to see.
For the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka, the following are the 20 seats to watch out for.
The Congress has accused the BJP of carrying out "one of the most heinous" horse-trading the country has ever seen and said it will hold nationwide protests against the "immoral political destabilisation".
However, it fell nine seats short of a majority.
Yeddyurappa lacks the Karnataka BJP's unqualified support and Shah knows that.
A democracy is one, only if it has a robust Opposition. And as its actions show, the Modi-BJP combine gives two hoots for that. So, the Opposition must learn to convince people why the BJP must go. Else, it can count down to 2029, points out Shyam G Menon.
The Kamareddy constituency attracted attention ever since KCR announced his decision to contest from there and the contest hot up as Congress fielded Revanth Reddy to take him on.
In his recent speeches in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also targeted the Gehlot government over the incident.
The Congress, referring to Gandhi's speech at a campaign rally at Hubballi on Saturday, said in a tweet that the Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson "sends a strong message to 6.5 crore Kannadigas,' and also posted pictures of her speaking at the public meeting.
All the issues around which the grand old party wanted to fight the May 10 assembly elections have been put on the backburner as party state president DK Shivakumar in damage control mode took up a temple run.
'The BJP knows only one language, intimidation!'
He also charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with being silent on price rise, unemployment and corruption in the state during his series of public meetings while campaigning for the elections taking place today.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92. He was brought to the emergency department of AIIMS Delhi in critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness."
What does election data say about the electoral support the competing parties in Karnataka have? Abhishek Waghmare find out.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
The first Karnataka legislative assembly session, after the formation of the new government will be held on starting Monday next week in Bengaluru.
Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Rajnath Singh (Uttar Pradesh), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam), H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka), and Jitan Ram Manjhi (Bihar).
The BJP won 12 of 15 seats on which bypolls were held. Congress could win only two.
These meetings with the district in-charge ministers, other ministers from districts concerned and MLAs and MLCs will take place at the chief minister's office residence 'Krishna' from 11 am to 7 pm with a break of two hours from 2 pm to 4 pm, the party office bearers said.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka had the last laugh as it won all the three Rajya Sabha seats it had contested in, out of total of four from the state that went for polls on Friday, while the Congress managed to win only one of the two seats to which it had fielded its candidates.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said no village in Maharashtra has sought merger with Karnataka recently, and there is no question of any border village "going anywhere".
If the Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu -- dating back to 1892 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency under the British Raj and the princely Mysore state -- has exploded again into a war, the discord between Karnataka and Goa over dividing the water of the Mahadayi river simmers under the surface.