Senior party leader Shripad Naik’s name has been hovering over Goa’s political horizon for quite some time, but BJP State president Vinay Tendulkar has suddenly emerged as the man of the moment. A day after Vijai Sardesai threw broad hints of his informal group of six zeroing down on Tendulkar, political activity has taken a whole new turn. While proposing Tendulkar’s name, the G-6 has effectively checkmated theories of Pramod Sawant and Vishwajit Rane doing the rounds as probable candidates.
Vijai may have his reasons over why he preferred Tendulkar ignoring seasoned party leaders like Shripad, but can the BJP bosses choose to ignore ‘Bhau’ for all the seniority that he carries and the connect he has within the party?
The equation isn’t that simple. Tendulkar in all probability will follow the template of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, where he relinquished charge as Union Defence Minister to contest in Panaji. In Tendulkar’s case, there could be more serious challenges in the run-up to poll. Let’s not forget, Parrikar virtually had a tough time at the hustings and it was only at the intervention of Vijai that the Taleigao strongman Babush Monserrate opted out of the fray giving Parrikar a walk-over.
For Tendulkar, it could be a different ball game. His Sanvordem constituency is represented by a MGP man Deepak Pawaskar. The onus will be on BJP to stage-manage Pawaskar and make way for Tendulkar. BJP however could cash on the advantage of rumblings within the MGP. But hang on, the MGP cannot be written off either. For all the twists and turns, they are still needed to keep the government afloat.
Also, the Congress cannot be ruled out of the equation and the party will leave no stone unturned to get their tally up one notch with their candidate in Sanvordem. Goa’s politics is hanging on thin mathematical margins and every count could tilt fortunes. The numbers are not stacked in favour of the BJP either and this is where the allies count in.
Any move to field Tendulkar would be merely to appease disgruntled allies and save the day for the government. We wonder how this fits into Amit Shah’s Lok Sabha plans of expanding party base across States. And if it ever was all about State politics, why was the inevitable delayed for such an extended period of time? It has becoming increasingly obvious and resentment over failure of administration has been growing every passing day with State developments hogging even national headlines.
BJP will have to overlook the larger picture of giving direction to the sagging fortunes of the party if they have to settle for Tendulkar ignoring Shripad. Whoever the central leadership settles for, it remains to be seen how the new leader galvanizes party workers that are split internally and how he lives up to the pulls and pressures of coalition partners. The most challenging part for now however would be to fill in the shoes of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is set to leave a huge imprint with his impeccable administration and astute handling of issues.
