Parrikar successor to be chosen on Saturday

BJP MLA from Calangute, Michael Lobo demanded that the party name Deputy CM Francisco D’Souza as Chief Minister to send an appropriate signal to the minority community

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and B.S. Yeddyurappa will arrive in Goa on Saturday as central observers to oversee the selection of a successor to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

After holding a meeting of the party MLAs in Panaji on Friday morning to elicit views over the issue, Mr. Parrikar said that a meeting of legislative party has been convened on Saturday at 12.30 p.m. which will be held in the presence of the observers. The outcome will be conveyed to BJP Parliamentary Board in New Delhi.

Mr. Parrikar will resign on Saturday after a formal announcement by the BJP's Parliamentary Board about his successor. The new Chief Minister will be sworn-in thereafter. Mr. Parrikar will hold his last Cabinet meeting at 6.30 p.m on Friday.

While Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Speaker Rajendra Arlekar are

>running a close race for being successor to Mr. Parrikar, BJP MLA from Calangute Michael Lobo added a new dimension to the issue by telling presspersons on Friday that the BJP should make Dy. Chief Minister Francisco D’Souza the Chief Minister to send an appropriate signal to the minority community.

While the BJP has six Catholic MLAs out of its 21 in the 40-member State Assembly, four more Catholic MLAs, including two Independents and two of the Goa Vikas Party are part of the BJP-led alliance.

Meanwhile, Goa Attorney-General Atmaram Nadkarni has said he will quit as soon as Mr. Parrikar resigns as he has no intentions of carrying on if Mr. Parrikar is not the Chief Minister.