PANAJI
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) State president, Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Monday said, that the question of the re-entry into the party of former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar or Utpal Parrikar, the son of former chief minister, the late Manohar Parrikar, is a decision to be taken by the party's central leadership.
The BJP leader was responding to a question during his 'Head On' interview with the editor of Prudent news channel Pramod Acharya.
Tanavade also said, that the runup to the 2022 assembly elections was his "most trying" time as State president of the party, as several top leaders quit the party starting with Michael Lobo, who was a cabinet minister at the time, and then Parsekar and Utpal followed suit.
Lobo had quit as minister from Chief Minister Sawant's cabinet and then the party to join the rival Congress party after he was unequivocally told by the saffron party that his wife Delilah will not get the party nomination to contest the Siolim seat.
Both Michael and Delilah successfully contested on the Congress party ticket but have since returned to the BJP as part of an eight-member group of MLAs who defected less than six months after the election results in March.
Parsekar and Parrikar Jr on the other hand rebelled against the BJP for being denied party tickets and contested the assembly election as Independents. Both however were defeated.
Tanavade also said during the course of the interview in response to another pointed query, that Parsekar quitting the party was more hurting than the exit of Utpal.
"Parsekar was ex-Chief Minister and also party president twice. He had a status in the party having played a role in building the party in Goa. The late Manohar Parrikar was also a big leader of the party....Utpal is his son," Tanavade said.
Tanavade also said, that no political party can obstinately deny any politician entry into the party.
"If our ideology is accepted and someone expresses desire to join, then we must admit him," Tanavade said.
