Keeping open the choice of the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Goa, the Union Minister for Roads, Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari, said on Thursday that post-polls the party could send a state leader currently in Delhi as Chief Minister.
Mr. Gadkari, who is also the BJP in-charge for Goa affairs, added that this would be done only if the elected MLAs agree. Currently, two leaders from Goa, Manohar Parrikar and Shripad Naik, are ministers at the Centre.
Addressing a press conference after releasing the list of 29 candidates for the February 4 elections, Mr. Gadkari said, “Be it Shripad Naik or Manohar Parrikar or any one else, has not expressed willingness to go to Goa. I am the observer for the elections. The party president and Prime Minister is in direct touch with me and I am making this announcement after discussing with them,” said Mr. Gadkari when asked if Mr. Parrikar had expressed his preference to go back to Goa.
“We are confident that we will win more seats than last time. Our newly elected MLAs, will elect a new leader and it is not necessary that this leader should be from the MLAs itself. We could send him from the Centre too. But we will do it in a democratic manner,” reiterated Mr. Gadkari.
“We are giving an opportunity to the voters that we can do this or that too. It could also be that the MLAs choose (Chief Minister) Laxmikant Parsekar, this can also happen. I am not denying any possibility,” he said. with Chief Minister on his right side.
Mr. Gadkari said that the election is being contested under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar, Laxmikant Parsekar, Shripad Naik and the state unit president Vinay Tendulkar.
Asked about possible post-election alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, which broke its earlier alliance ahead of the election, Mr. Gadkari said, “Politics is a game of contradiction, compulsion and limitation. Anything can happen in cricket and politics, but this doesn't mean that it will happen here.”
The BJP, which won 21 of the 40 seats in the 2012 elections in alliance with the MGP, is contesting from 37 seats this time round.
