PANAJI
In his eventful political innings, former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar has made and destroyed several political careers.
But little would he have known that the man who Parrikar ushered into the treasury benches in 2002 would be the same man who would hold his elder son Utpal’s fledgling political career to ransom.
Atanasio alias Babush Monserrate was a United Goans Democratic Party MLA from Taleigao at the time and he along with a then bandana-sporting Mickky Pacheco were inducted into the Parrikar-led cabinet, when the BJP fell short of numbers.
Since this first bromance between Parrikar and Monserrate, the latter has moved from one party to another, before settling down in the Bharatiya Janata Party, a political party, which Monserrate now claims he would retire in.
Not that Monserrate’s ‘word’ has meant much in the past. He described himself as the prodigal son on both occasions when he joined the Congress party and his promise of doing away with the casinos from Panaji within 100 days, has become the stuff of memes.
But the current stand-off within the BJP over the claim for a ticket to the prestigious Panaji assembly seat between Monserrate and Utpal, has Parrikar’s political ‘legacy’ written all over it.
The former Defence Minister’s dexterous handling of political crises in Goa earned kudos for short-term successes. But paradoxically, the long-term implications of Parrikar’s hasty political actions (which appeared brilliant when they were undertaken), are not only wearing the BJP cadre thin, but are also proving to be an impediment for his own son’s political growth.
It was Parrikar, who implanted the gene of ‘pragmatism at any cost’ in the DNA of the new BJP. It started with a series of flirtations with Congress rebels like Francisco Sardinha, Pacheco, Monserrate, Ravi Naik, etc.
Parrikar also ramrodded the induction of Pandurang Madkaikar and Mauvin Godinho into the party ahead of the 2017 polls. Previously, Madkaikar had been taken to the cleaners and Mauvin to the Supreme Court by Parrikar over alleged corruption charges.
After the 2017 polls, Parrikar also activated his charm magnet to pull in Vishwajit Rane, Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar into the BJP.
After his death, the Goa BJP set-up simply opened the flood-gates to allow a virtual invasion of Congress and MGP MLAs into the party fold in order to insulate Pramod Sawant and the government from destabilisation.
Monserrate is credited with being the architect of the defection of 10 MLAs in 2019. Since his entry into the BJP, Monserrate has looked to consolidate his position with the new order in the BJP (post-Parrikar) led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, state president Sadnanand Shet Tanavade and the party’s key functionary, organising secretary Satish Dhond.
The Panaji MLA who was chided by BJP functionaries as a rape accused, who women needed to steer clear from, has also been used as a lightning rod, to launch offensives against potential rivals to the throne like Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and Deepak Prabhu Pauskar, whose utility value to the party appears to have diminished.
It was Monseratte who publicly raised the issue with Rane and Pauskar over favouritism in government recruitment, shielding Sawant from the spotlight.
Monserrate appears to have adapted life well in the BJP and his geographic jump from the fields of Taleigao to the gutters of Panaji seems to have benefited him and the BJP.
Utpal, on the other hand, has stuttered in his early days in politics. He appears to have started, stopped, started, stopped and started again. His Twitter timeline is as cryptic and staccato as his on-ground political moves to wrest Panaji from Monserrate.
Soon after he was snubbed and completely outmanoeuvred in his efforts for a party ticket in the 2019 bypoll, Utpal complained about the BJP veering away from the political path laid down by his father (although there is a strong case for the new BJP actually furthering Parrikar’s obsession with lassoing in winnable candidates at any and all costs).
Utpal then disappeared from canvas, emerging for a bit during the Covid pandemic, only to disappear from the frontlines again. He has, however, claimed in several interviews that he was regularly in touch with core BJP workers in Panaji and across Goa.
His latest move, according to a section of the media, has been to call on Union Home Minister and his late father’s cabinet colleague Amit Shah to claim the Panaji ticket.
But if one goes by BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis’ comment on Wednesday, that by the virtue of being Parrikar’s son alone one does not merit a ticket in the BJP, his lobbying with Shah may have ended up a dud.
So, that leaves one with the question of what choice do the state capital’s BJP sympathisers have when it comes to electing their MLA?
Parrikar’s son Utpal, whose fresh political profile is dotted by a trail of indecision, hesitancy and cryptic, snarky comments on Twitter and is shunned by the state party leadership.
Or Monserrate, with his laundry list of criminal cases, who was ushered into the ruling political craft by Parrikar himself and one who is willing to do all the dirty work at the new BJP’s bidding.
It’s a tough call. Perhaps reciting some ‘garanes’ at the Parrikar statue at Miramar, could invoke an answer.
