the goan I network
PANAJI
Utpal Parrikar, the older son of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, on Friday said he would take a decision at the right time on plunging into politics and contesting from Panaji, the seat left vacant after his father’s death on March 17.
“I have not given it a thought at the moment. But I will have to think about it when the time is right,” Utpal told the media when asked about the reports on the issue.
Utpal was in the BJP entourage which accompanied Union Ayush Minister Shripad Naik to the Mahalaxmi Temple in Panaji ahead of the latter filing his nomination for the North Goa Lok Sabha seat.
It was the first time that the older son of the late Chief Minister spoke to the media on his entering politics and contesting the Panaji bypoll which is being discussed by the BJP and its workers in the capital for several days now.
Referring to the media reports that BJP workers and sympathisers were expressing support for his candidature, Utpal said, “I have taken note of the sentiments of the people.”
Media reports over the last one week have suggested that the ruling party is toying with the proposal of nominating the older Parrikar sibling in a bid to cash-in on the sympathy factor.
BJP Goa unit president, Vinay Tendulkar, has also admitted when confronted with the media reports that the party national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna has formally requested both Utpal and his younger brother Abhijat to work with the BJP like their father, when he met them a few days after the latter passed away.
