PANAJI
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) central leadership has named former chief minister and current Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis as its Goa election in charge.
A statement issued by the BJP said: “The BJP has appointed Devendra Fadnavis as its election in-charge in Goa for the upcoming Assembly election 2022.”
Elections in Goa are likely to be clubbed with those in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand and the nationally crucial Uttar Pradesh like was the case in 2017. They are due in February March 2022.
The BJP also announced election in-charges in the four other States due for polls -- Dharmendra Pradhan will be in charge of UP, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat of Punjab, Bhupendra Yadav in Manipur and Prahlad Joshi of Uttarakhand.
The appointment of Fadnavis comes close on the heels of the principal Opposition Congress appointing former Union minister P Chidambaram as senior observer in charge of the party’s Goa election strategy.
Chidambaram has already made two visits to the State and was instrumental in decisions which put at rest speculation and retained Girish Chodankar as GPCC chief and also appointed several election-related panels accommodating almost every senior Congress leader in them.
Fadnavis on his part will have his quotient of trouble-shooting to do with the party facing personality clashes among its own leaders in some constituencies and the entry of turncoats from the Congress in 10 seats.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Fadnavis has been welcomed by the BJP in Goa. Former Panaji MLA and BJP spokesperson Siddharth Kuncolienkar tweeted: “We at @BJP4Goa welcome appointment of young & dynamic @Dev_Fadnavisji as #ElectionIncharge for oncoming #Goa elections. We are confident that under your able guidance, we will retain people’s trust to form absolute majority Government. 22+in 22.”
Another BJP spokesperson Urfan Mulla also tweeted: “It’s a great feeling that @Dev_Fadnavis will be (the) party’s election in-charge for #Goa. His experience will help the party win majority seats in the state. @DrPramodPSawant @ShetSadanand @CTRavi_BJP @BJP4Goa.”
