BJP is facing political fireworks ahead of Diwali. It was a double whammy on Sunday as Mahadev Naik threw a patakha against his own party in Shiroda constituency while Goa Forward seized the moment of uncertainty to surge ahead with a party helpline in eight constituencies, eyeing even the BJP stronghold of Mayem.
Despite the talk of ruling out mid-term polls, Goa Forward supremo Vijai Sardesai’s move to reach out to areas beyond the three constituencies held by his party is enough to suggest that he is keeping one eye on elections. And his decision to break even into saffron territory says it all.
Sunday’s developments come at a time when the party is facing its biggest dhamaka, with some of its top leaders -- Mapusa MLA Francis D’Souza, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo and former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar already spitting fire against their own party.
With an ailing Manohar Parrikar failing to manage the rumblings within senior leaders, the BJP is now certainly a house on fire. A complete lack of communication and a breach in trust is evident between the central leadership of Amit Shah and State BJP leaders, and this doesn’t augur well for the party. That Parrikar was the binding force holding the party and allies together is evident from the fact that leaders are now openly venting their fury which was unheard of during the CM’s hey days.
To BJP’s disadvantage, senior leaders within the party have given a huge thumbs-down to their president Vinay Tendulkar, and the recent addition to the list is Mahadev. With Parrikar virtually out of any fire-fighting, the party will be in no position to unite under the leadership of Tendulkar. Laxmikant Parsekar’s refusal to meet Parrikar, and open outbursts from others are clear indicators that there is no control over dissenting voices.
The political compromises which the BJP made recently, roping in two Congressmen without consulting local leaders, is threatening to backfire big-time. The BJP will require the central leadership of Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari to take complete control of the ground situation here, before issues go out of hand.
Moreover, Parrikar’s health continues to remain a mystery with only those ministers returning happy from his bungalow giving a positive update. The last we heard was Vijai saying Parrikar has improved a lot, that was when three of his pending issues were cleared by the CM. Not to mention, Tendulkar even said that the CM will be back to work in a couple of days.
With Parrikar out of action and a leadership crisis still looming, it appears that the BJP is working out only temporary solutions to permanent problems.
