PANAJI
It appears to be a case of 'one bitten, twice cautious' for former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar's son and 'birthday boy' Utpal Parrikar, who on Thursday, formally staked claim for a BJP ticket to the Panaji assembly seat, which was once a Parrikar bastion, but is now ruled by the Monserrate clan.
Utpal, who was humiliated by the ruling BJP when his claim for a ticket was mysteriously turned down at the last minute ahead of the 2019 assembly by-poll, has however warned the party leadership of "tough decisions" he might have to take if his plea for a ticket is turned down this time.
"I have already said I have informed my party that I want to contest elections from Panaji and I am confident that my party would give me a ticket," Utpal told reporters at the Mahalaxmi temple in Panaji on Thursday.
The otherwise reclusive Utpal turned the birthday celebration into a show of strength of sorts by meeting his well-wishers, dozens of whom greeted him near the temple premises.
The show of strength was also accompanied by a rider from Parrikar's son. When asked if he would contest the polls as an independent candidate, if the party refused him the official ticket once again, Utpal warned: "I do not want to speak about this now. Manohar Parrikar did not get anything in life easily and I too will have to work hard and I may have to take some tough decisions. I have asked the goddess for strength towards that end".
Utpal also said that there were people across Goa who believed in 'Bhai' and that he would "source strength from them".
"I will also stay within the BJP (and fight it out). When the time comes to take a decision, I will listen to the people. I have told the party and the party will give me (ticket). I am confident about it," he further said, adding that he would not spell out his future strategy just yet.
Utpal also denied that the public celebration of his birthday was a show of strength, but added that he had sought divine intervention from Goddess Mahalaxmi to fetch him a BJP ticket for Panaji.
"I am fully confident that they will give me a ticket. I have asked God for the same thing," he said.
Utpal, the former Defence Minister's eldest son, has not been a permanent and active fixture in the state BJP activities, barring a few public appearances which he has made since his father's demise.
In 2019, he had staked a claim for a ticket for the Panaji assembly bypoll, but was pipped to the post at the last minute by the former Chief Minister's confidant Sidharth Kuncalienkar, who eventually lost the election to Congress' Atanasio Monserrate.
The Monserrate clan has now consolidated its presence in Panaji, through Atanasio as the Panaji MLA, his son Rohit Monserrate as the mayor of Panaji and Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate as the Taleigao MLA.
It remains to be seen whether Utpal can make a dent in the same fortress where his father's writ held large once, especially since the BJP appears to have passed on the keys to the gates of the capital city and its suburb to the Monserrate family.
