Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has finally decided to contest the by-election from Panaji. This was made possible after sitting MLA Sidharth Kunkalienkar resigned to make way for his boss. Kunkalienkar put up a brave face and made all the right noises. He said he was quitting as a loyal member of the party. He tried to make little of the sacrifice he had made saying, his resignation was smaller when compared with the sacrifice Parrikar had made (resigning as Union Defence Minister) to steady the BJP ship in Goa. Kunkalienkar was handpicked by Parrikar to succeed him in Panaji after he quit, to take up the post of Union Defence Minister in Delhi. Then, it was understood that the new MLA would hold the fortress until his mentor returned. None, not even Kunkalienkar, expected this to happen sooner than later. Being called upon to quit after defeating Babush Monserrate must have been a bitter pill to swallow. Kunkalienkar might not have much of a political career left to pursue, but he held his head high and walked with his pride intact after submitting his resignation.
Parrikar had two choices “ Panaji or Curchorem, where Nilesh Cabral had won with a margin of 9,088 votes. Panaji is the chief minister’s home constituency and there would have been no two opinions on where Parrikar should contest, but for the presence of Monserrate. The Taleigao strongman has a larger than life image and he chose to take the plunge in Panaji. His defeat, the first since he won an election in Taleigao, came as a bit of a surprise, but it was the margin of little over 1,000 votes which made Parrikar jittery. Secondly, the manner in which this new government was cobbled together had set off a wave of resentment. There were some of the factors that were weighed before taking a decision.
Parrikar has shown courage by opting to stand in Panaji. Had he to choose Curchorem, which was a safe bet, he would always be remembered as the candidate who ran away from a tough contest. He would have been perceived as weak and this would have hampered his role as chief minister. He has to fight against his opponents in Panaji if he wants to emerge stronger.
The by-election to the Panaji constituency could be exciting or boring depending on what Monserrate decides to do. The former MLA is in talks with the Congress and has promised to make his stance known in a day or two. This is as difficult a decision for Monserrate as it was for Parrikar. Having lost to Kunkalienkar when the mood was decidedly against the BJP, Monserrate has to think twice, maybe thrice before deciding to take on Parrikar.
