BJP denies ticket to Parrikar’s son

— The BJP on Sunday nominated late Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s aide Sidharth Kuncalienkar as its candidate for the Panaji assembly seat bypolls, ignoring the candidature of his son Utpal Parrikar. Kuncalienkar’s nomination was approved after much delay by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Central Election Committee on Sunday, according to a statement issued by the committee’s secretary J.P. Nadda.Utpal Parrikar had been considered a front-runner for contesting the May 19 bypoll and his name was expected to be announced on Friday, but a public announcement by former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar that he was also entering the contest, resulted in the party opting for Kuncalienkar. —