PANAJI
The impromptu weekend arrival of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary and Goa desk in-charge CT Ravi has triggered speculation in political circles of possible changes in the cabinet led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Ravi, who had a bad outing at the recently concluded Karnataka polls losing his own seat, is said to have arrived on Saturday evening and spent Sunday meeting with individual leaders of the party.
An official press conference is scheduled on Monday at Mapusa, where Ravi will be addressing the media along with local leaders of the party, according to State BJP president, Sadanand Tanavade.
Political circles are agog with reports that Sawant has been given the green signal for the cabinet reshuffle which has been on the agenda for several weeks, ostensibly to accommodate two of the eight Congress MLAs who joined the party -- ex-CM Digambar Kamat and former minister Aleixo Sequeira.
The Kamat-Sequeira duo and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo are three of the eight MLAs who joined the saffron party in September last year but are yet to be given an formal responsibility either in the government or at the party level. The other five MLAs -- Kedar Naik, Rajesh Phaldesai, Sankalp Amonkar, Rudolf Fernandes and Delilah Lobo -- have all been inducted as chairpersons of State-owned corporations.
Ravi meanwhile is also expected to hold talks with party leaders and office bearers with regard to party organisational matters and preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
A BJP leader who did not want to be identified said, Ravi is also expected to open talks with the local leadership over the vacancy which will arise in July with Rajya Sabha MP, Vinay Tendulkar's term ending in July.
