3 CONTENDERS EMERGE AS BJP MULLS CHANGE OF GUARD IN GOA

PANAJI: The BJP central leadership is deliberating over the names of health minister Vishwajit Rane, speaker of the assembly Pramod Sawant, and state unit president Vinay Tendulkar as it “seriously considers” putting in place a new leader to replace ailing chief minister Manohar Parrikar, according to several functionaries from the ruling coalition familiar with the development.

BJP president Amit Shah held meetings in Delhi on Thursday with alliance partners, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP), besides separate meetings with core committee members Sawant and Tendulkar to discuss a possible change in leadership in Goa. After the meeting, GFP chief Vijai Sardesai told Hindustan Times that the BJP central leadership has expressed its “commitment towards giving us the respect that we have in this alliance”. The BJP leadership is seriously looking at the leadership issue and I have explained to him (Amit Shah) the aspirations of the Goan people in the current political scenario.”

“There are some names that are being discussed, that of the speaker of the Goa assembly (Sawant), Vishwajit Rane and the party president (Tendulkar),” he said.

Though Rane emerged as the front-runner over the last two days, his candidature is being opposed within the BJP on grounds that it would be putting the party in the “wrong hands”, primarily on the grounds that he was with the Congress earlier.

There were speculations that the BJP leadership would use the auspicious occasion of Dussehra (October 19) to announce a fresh start for its alliance, but the deliberations seem to be taking longer that first anticipated. Sardesai said the final decision could be arrived at ”soon”.

The speaker, Sawant, is the only one among the 14 BJP MLAs, barring Parrikar, who can claim to be a ‘true’ BJP man, having risen up the ranks from the party’s youth wing. He is currently Goa’s lone Rajya Sabha MP besides being the state party chief and a former MLA.

But not all stakeholders in the coalition are in favour of a change in leadership, with MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar saying wants the status quo to be maintained. “I have told them (BJP leadership) that they should avoid changing the leader as Parrikar is still there. They should instead focus on redistributing the portfolios,” Dhavalikar said.

“If the BJP is indeed keen on changing the chief minister, they should keep in mind that they will need the support of the alliance partners in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and not run roughshod over the allies’ wishes,” Dhavalikar said.

Till Wednesday evening, Tendulkar denied that the BJP was considering a leadership charge.

When they joined the BJP-led coalition in 2017 -- even though Congress was the largest party after the assembly elections -- the two alliance partners made Parrikar’s leadership conditional to their support. However, now faced with the prospect of having to toe the BJP line or face midterm polls, the alliance partners have softened their stands, officials from both parties indicating.

With the BJP poaching two of Congress MLAs this week, the ruling party’s position has been strengthened. That is another reason why the BJP can dictating terms to the MGP, which earlier contented that its leader, Sudin Dhavalikar should be handed the leadership baton.