NEW DELHI, Oct 27: Unruffled by the dissidents' campaign to unseat him, Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel today declared that he saw no one in the Janata Dal replacing him and said that the no-confidence motion to be moved by the Congress against his government will be defeated.``It is the desire of the JD's central leadership that our government should continue and the party remain united,'' he told a press conference here. Asked if the central leadership wanted that the party continue under his stewardship, he remarked: ``So far as I can see there's nobody other than me.''Fielding questions with his customary elan, Patel said that ``my position in Karnataka is safe and strong''. To a question whether the dissidents' campaign was a result of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's perceived feeling of marginalisation within the party, he shot back, ``It is a wrong apprehension. I have not marginalised anybody. In fact, Gowda has never said that he has been isolated or that he had not beenconsulted.''The Chief Minister today met central leaders S Jaipal Reddy, party secretary general Bapu Kaldate and Surendra Mohan and apprised them of the developments in the State. He said that he had also spoken to JD chief Sharad Yadav and everyone had agreed that he could not hold the meeting of the JD legislature party till the Assembly session which was to begin on October 29 concluded on November 11.Both Patel and State JD president B L Shankar have now taken the stand that the initiative to resolve the crisis lay with the central leadership which should hold talks with all senior partymen including Deve Gowda and S R Bommai. It is likely that Patel may meet Sharad Yadav on his next visit to Delhi on November 3.The Chief Minister said that he wanted Sharad Yadav to depute a representative to Bangalore for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.Asked about the Congress' plans for a no-trust move, he said that he was welcoming it. ``We are not shying away from it. I will prove mymajority.''Sources close to Patel said that the Congress by bringing a no-confidence motion was doing him a favour. ``It would make his position in the party stronger. The dissidents will have no option but to join us in defeating the motion,'' they said.The Gowda camp has also been forced to accept the fact that the legislature party could not meet when the Assembly session is on to discuss a leadership change, especially given the Opposition's plans for a no-trust motion. But few believe that the crisis has been resolved. They say that the truce is only temporary and will hold till the Assembly session is over.The much-awaited Gowda-Patel meeting is yet to take place. Asked when it would take place, Patel said: ``There is nothing to prevent us from meeting each other. Whenever he wants or I want, we can meet.''Asked if the truce called by the dissidents was only temporary, he said: ``When there is no war where is the question of truce?'' Asked what was Gowda doing if there was no war in theKarnataka unit, he quipped: ``Please ask him''.
