Senior party leaders seek candidature for Goa assembly polls
Panaji : The pressure on the state as well as the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party to give major role to its local senior leaders in the Goan politics is building up, with more and more trusted BJP loyalists directly or indirectly claiming the candidature of the party for the 2022 state assembly elections.
Senior party leader and Union minister Shripad Naik expressed his readiness to make his entry into state politics, telling ‘The Navhind Times’ that if the party asks me to shift to Goa, I would be happy to do so.
“As of now, the party’s central leadership has not discussed this issue with me. However, if it does in the future, I would abide by the decision of the party and take on any responsibility given to me,” he added.
Naik also said that his contesting the Lok Sabha elections in the past was the decision of the party, and if he does run for the state assembly elections in the future, it would also be the decision of the party.
“There is nothing like I am interested in local politics or I like national politics,” he stated, pointing out, “It all depends what my party chooses for me and feels that I would perform better in what is decided for me.”
The North Goa MP also said that he is thankful to all those, who want to welcome him in Goan politics.
“However, the decision has to come from party’s central leadership,” he reiterated.
Party sources told this daily that a faction within the state BJP unit has now become active for “maintaining the originality and protecting the identity” of the party in the state, especially as “15 outsiders”, including 13 Congress legislators, have joined the BJP after the 2017 state assembly elections, and are all set to replace the original leaders of the party, who had toiled hard to bring the party to its present position in Goa.
Naik expressing his desire to contest the forthcoming assembly election in Goa, and the Rajya Sabha member of the party Vinay Tendulkar, who had earlier expressed similar wish, now supporting Naik in his aspiration, is a clear signal of such a faction having become functional.
Tendulkar, who last month had stated that he is ready to give up his membership of the Parliament and contest the state assembly elections, so as to strengthen the BJP in Goa and expand it further, welcomed Naik’s statement.
He took on the social media on Friday to state, “We at Bhartiya Janata Party are always obedient to our party and dedicated towards public service. We welcome Shripad’s decision wholeheartedly to join state politics in Goa if needed, and we would love to welcome and work with him on grassroots level. Our state will be privileged by services of such hard working and illustrious leader. I have always looked up to Shripad Naik ji, and will always seek guidance from his work and advices. Moreover, we also respect party’s decision of any change needed towards Goa’s political paradigm and it would be a positive change to include such senior leader in Goan party structure. We have all learnt from his work.”
Tendulkar also pointed out, “I have always looked up to him as a mentor.”
Former minister and BJP leader Ramesh Tawadkar, who earlier this week was appointed as the in-charge of Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes BJP Morcha for Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, also stated that he is desirous of contesting the forthcoming assembly election.
Speaking to this daily, Tawadkar said that his new appointment is just an organisational responsibility, which is not a fulltime responsibility. “Therefore, I wish to contest the state assembly election on BJP candidature in Canacona constituency,” he noted.
One of the original leaders of the state BJP unit and former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who is also interested in contesting these polls from Mandrem constituency, said that there is some factuality in the perception that legislators, who had been there in other political parties for long, and who have now joined the BJP, harming the party in some or other way.
“At the same time, I would say that not all local senior leaders of the BJP are spotless, and not all outsiders who have joined my party are bad,” he observed, adding that such an outsider can sometimes work better than the “original leader”, for the party.
State BJP president Sadanand Tanawade refused to comment on the particular development. He, however, stated that there is still time for the decisions to be reached as regards the 2022 state assembly elections, adding that no one can for sure say what would be the situation when the elections are announced.