What has changed between then and now for former chief minister and BJP strongman Laximikant Parsekar? After a blitzkrieg against his own senior party men, including BJP State President Vinay Tendulkar, he has finally hit a reconciliatory note. And given his strong credentials of being one of the founders of BJP in the State, this perhaps is politically a right decision.
Parsekar has been the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political survival, a fact that the BJP strongman should have understood better. Being at the helm as the chief minister when Manohar Parrikar was shifted to the national capital as Defence Minister, he should have been familiar to the chess-board politics of checkmating the opposition. A move which virtually kept the government afloat. Raising a hue and cry over party’s decision and washing party’s dirty linen in public only exposed the other side of the BJP leader.
From threatening to contest as an Independent to giving indications of doing a MGP ghar wapsi, and not exercising any restraint even after the brief intervention of senior leaders, including Parrikar, reflected a sheer sense of resentment and frustration. It showed an ugly side of Parsekar, who put himself above party politics and was ready to go to any extent to avenge his defeat suffered in the 2017 assembly elections. The power-hungry politician in Parsekar was in full roar and this did not augur well for both him and the BJP.
Moreover, the move of Parsekar contesting outside the BJP was fraught with risks of virtually bringing an end to his political innings in case of a defeat. Against this background, better sense prevailed on the senior leader to humbly accept the party decision, embrace all the goodies that came along the way, and move on.
It now remains to be seen how the former chief minister campaigns for the person responsible for his downfall. It may be recalled Parsekar thundered at a huge meeting held recently at Mandrem under the banner of Bharatiya Janata Party Nishtavant Karyakartas appealing to Pednekars to defeat Dayanand Sopte. How does he go to the people and publicly do a U-turn now? And where does this U-turn leave his followers and supporters who turned out in hordes for the meeting and vouched their support to Parsekar?
Outside the political battlefield, he faces challenges of bridging the gap that resulted from of his rebellion. Parsekar may have finally toed the party line, but it remains to be seen how fast the scars of his razor-sharp attacks heal. Also, one of the challenges is to come to terms with a party president who has publicly shown him as a spent force. All said and done, Parsekar’s decision to go with party decision is a win-win situation for him and the BJP. Parsekar continues to remain his party’s loyalist and the BJP just manages to pull itself out of an embarrassing situation.
