Exuding confidence, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Goa election in charge Devendra Fadnavis told News18 that the Congress will not get the chance this time to implement what it had learn from its “past mistakes” in 2017 as the BJP will come in with full majority and form the government again in the coastal state. Fadnavis was responding to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s statement that her party has learned from the past experience of 2017 Goa assembly elections when it could not form the government despite being the single-largest party but the BJP, with just 13 MLAs, formed the government.
Fadnavis said, “I think the Congress will not even get a chance to learn from their past experience of 2017. The BJP will form the government. For all reasons, 2017 was a different situation. We may have had fewer people on our side but there were others who trusted us. They had faith in us because they have seen the time when they saw seven CMs in five years. We are a stable government.”
The BJP in Goa is, apparently, in a fix with BJP’s tallest leader and former chief minister late Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal contesting as an Independent against the party’s Atanasio Monserrate from Panaji seat. The party, however, is not shying away from attacking Utpal and making it known to voters that all attempts were made to adjust him in the ranks and it is he who chose a separate path.
Meanwhile, BJP general secretary and Goa in charge CT Ravi told News18 that it is only the BJP that can lay claim to Manohar Parrikar’s political legacy and no one else.
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“Parrikar’s legacy can be taken forward only by the BJP. For Utpal Parrikar, it can be a private legacy/ property. He can’t be a political stakeholder in Parrikar’s legacy. Only a BJP worker can be the stakeholder of that (Parrikar). His dream was to bring the BJP back to power to do development and only we can do that,” said Ravi.
Whether it will be ‘ghar wapsi’ for Utpal Parrikar post elections is not an issue that the party is currently delving into, he added.
On whether he who would be the next Goa chief minister if the BJP comes to power, Ravi said “99 per cent” it will be the sitting chief minister.
“Pramod Sawant has led the Goa government. Nadda, too, said we are fighting in his leadership. He is the sitting CM and 99 per cent it happens that the same person becomes the CM,” he noted.
Ravi also took potshots at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress, and said, “We can give a stable government and we did a lot of development work. Corrupt parties can’t be an alternative and neither can be the party that is known for ‘goondaism’ or the party that lies. That politics won’t work in Goa.”
With the central leadership, and, many from the neighboring state of Goa camping in the state to oversee the poll preparations, sources said the BJP is planning for all scenarios in case it doesn’t get the majority. Goa’s 40 assembly constituencies will vote on February 14 and the results will be declared on March 10.
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