PANAJI
Speculation over a cabinet reshuffle to 'accomodate' Congress turncoats -- Digambar Kamat and Aleixo Sequeira -- may be persisting for long but the people of Korgao panchayat in Pernem have their own ideas: a cabinet berth for their MLA, Pravin Arlekar.
On Sunday, Arlekar got a boost for his quest to become a minister from an unlikely quarter, the Korgao panchayat, where a bizarre resolution was passed by the gram sabha demanding that the government give a ministerial position to their MLA.
At the Korgao gram sabha meeting held on Sunday morning, there were heated discussions on several topics and allegations were even made against the sarpanch and panch members.
But when this bizarre resolution was urging the State government to make Arlekar a minister, the arguments ended and it saw a facile sail through.
Several members of the gram sabha voiced the opinion that many projects of the village do not go through which will not be the case if the local MLA Praveen Arlekar is given a ministerial post.
"All the projects will be implemented and the overall development of the constituency will be achieved," one member of the gram sabha said.
Pernem is the lone constituency among 40 of the Goa legislative assembly reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates and the MLA elected from it has in the past made it to the cabinet.
Arlekar's immediate predecessor Manohar (Babu) Ajgaonkar, was in the cabinet multiple times, including the full five years of the assembly's previous term in which he was even elevated as Deputy Chief Minister.
Prior to Ajgaonkar's 2017-22 term, Pernem was represented by Rajendra Arlekar who also made it to the cabinet in 2012.
Later, when the late Manohar Parrikar was elevated as Union Defence Minister in 2014, Arlekar missed out on becoming chief minister, pipped to the post by neighbouring Mandrem's Laxmikant Parsekar and ended up becoming the Speaker. He is currently the Governor of Bihar.
Pravin Arlekar has often voiced his desire to become a minister since getting elected from Pernem for the first time in March last year but the ruling BJP's leadership do not have him in the zone of consideration as yet.
Sunday's bizarre resolution passed by the Korgao gram sabha expressly demanding Arlekar's elevation as minister, meanwhile, has already triggered a discussion in the constituency.
Political observers say it will be as bizarre as the resolution itself if it actually impacts decision-making on cabinet composition within the saffron party's leadership and the High Command.
