Manohar Parrikar to meet cabinet colleagues at AIIMS

Goa CM Parrikar will meet four ministers from BJP, two each from allies MGP and GF, and two independents. Photo: Gurinder Osan/Mint

Mumbai: Ailing Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar will meet his cabinet colleagues on Friday at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he is being treated for a pancreatic ailment, a Goa Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and member of the Goa BJP core team said.

Parrikar would meet four ministers from the BJP, two each from allies Maharashtravadi Gomantak Paksha (MGP), Goa Forward (GF), and two independents who are part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Goa, the BJP leader said requesting anonymity.

“The chief minister will possibly discuss reallocation of portfolios with the BJP ministers and allies. Some misunderstandings have cropped up after the induction of two ministers last month and the chief minister may address those,” said the BJP leader.

Last month, on Parrikar’s instructions, the BJP dropped two ailing ministers Francis D’souza and Pandurang Madkaikar from the Goa cabinet and inducted Nilesh Cabral and Milind Naik. D’souza, who is in the US for treatment, reacted sharply to his exit while a few other BJP legislators hopeful of getting cabinet berths also told the core committee about their displeasure over missing out, according to the BJP leader.

Senior BJP legislator and Goa Assembly deputy speaker Michael Lobo hit out at the BJP-led government, saying the coalition had failed on all fronts. Before last month’s reshuffle, Lobo was considered one of the front-runners for a cabinet berth.

Even GF leader and senior minister in the Parrikar cabinet Vijay Sardesai supported Lobo’s claim for the cabinet berth. On Sunday, Lobo met Parrikar at the AIIMS.

The BJP in Goa, which has only 14 legislators in the 40-member Assembly, has been leading a fragile coalition, with the support of three MLAs each from the MGP and GF, and three independents. The opposition Congress has 16 legislators and it has conveyed to the governor its readiness to form the government though it has not demonstrated the support of 21 members.

Last month, the BJP inducted two ministers in an attempt to tide over the governance crisis and also sent out a strong message to the allies that it was serious about saving the government in the coastal state.

The minor reshuffle came after the Congress claimed that governance in Goa had come to a standstill and even the Shiv Sena, which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, said the government in Goa was in the “intensive care unit”.