PANAJI
Amid reports of a battle of wits and subtle sabre-rattling between BJP's two Marathas -- caretaker CM Pramod Sawant and former Health Minister Vishwajit Rane -- over who should occupy the top political chair in the state, Rane's newly elected wife Deviya created a flutter on Tuesday.
With the BJP unable to finalise its chief minister five days after the party emerged as the single largest party, but fell just one short of a majority, the Poriem MLA said that any elected legislator can be considered ready to occupy the top slot, to a pointed question over whether her husband Vishwajit was ready to take up the post of Chief Minister.
"Of course any elected representative can be ready and he is a very experienced politician for the last 15 years. But the final decision is of the central committee," Deviya Rane told reporters.
She however said that there was no dissent over the choice of chief minister within the BJP, adding that the decision was left to the party high command.
"Party will decide, central leaders will decide whatever they decide is the final decision," she said.
Deviya Rane however said that reports about camps in the BJP over the choice of chief minister was a creation of the media. Former Chief Minister and now BJP MLA Ravi Naik also said that there was no rift in the party camp over the chief ministerial choice.
"There is no camp at all. We are all united," Naik said.
Rane, who also arrived at the state legislative assembly to take oath as an MLA, when asked to comment on Deviya's comment vis a vis his readiness to occupy the top post, however said: "(It is the) concerned MLA's view. Not my view".
The BJP has already appointed Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as a central party observer to chaperone a meeting of the newly elected BJP MLAs for the purpose of electing a leader of the house.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also headed for the national capital on Tuesday to meet party president JP Nadda over the issue.
"I am going to Delhi to meet the party president," Sawant told reporters at the assembly complex.
