The coalition partners, Congress Party and the Goan populace who were waiting anxiously to hear from the BJP national president Amit Shah on key issues that are currently plaguing the State, were in for a huge disappointment. There was nothing very significant they could gather from the marathon speech that was delivered to the scores of party karyakartas from across Goa.
While there was a wave of expectation with even the coalition partners preparing ground to seek clarity on certain issue, the much-hyped Amit Shah meeting turned out to be a damp squib as the party president skirted all critical issues and blew his trumpet on the successes of the party across the nation while giving a pep talk to the party cadre to gear up for the challenges ahead.
There was the leadership crisis which needed to be addressed on an urgent basis where the Congress party has been piling on pressure, there was the controversial Mhadei issue which have left the Congress and also the coalition partners guessing and there were other issues like the demand for scrapping of Regional Plan 2021 and also the PDAs. None of these issues were touched upon as Shah went about his own agenda.
This Shah visit was believed to be very crucial to boosting the rank and file of the BJP in the State which is currently facing an onslaught on various fronts. The grand old party under the leadership of Girish Chodankar has been firing on all cylinders lately, making the going tough for the ruling coalition. Against this backdrop, Amit Shah was believed to be making an entry at the right time.
The pressure was showing even a couple days prior to Shah visit. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s sweeping statement that Congressmen are scheduled to meet Shah had his political chicanery exposed when Shah cancelled meeting with his own party MLAs and the coalition partners, leave alone any other MLAs.
Shah’s political acumen and his Goa visit may have failed to bolster the sagging party morale but a video from Manohar Parrikar from US giving an update on his treatment and also giving a tentative time frame for his return, did what Shah could not do -- of effectively blunting the opposition call for a leadership change, at least for now.
The BJP will have to look within and redraw their stratergies if they are to effectively counter the onslaught of the Congress. The ruling coalition is slowly losing grip and the absence of Parrikar is felt at every passing day. Amit Shah may be able to assuage the fears momentarily with his sweet talk to partymen, but the day-to-day grind is still going to be a tough job for the BJP.
