Laxmikant Parsekar changes mind, may head party’s Goa unit

PANAJI

: After several months of putting up a rebel front and threatening to contest

Mandrem

bypolls, former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar finally bowed down to the party’s wishes and decided not to contest the elections.


BJP managers, after several rounds of discussions, succeeding in pacifying a belligerent Parsekar, who had raised a banner of revolt in October soon after his arch rival Dayanand Sopte had resigned as Congress MLA and joined the saffron party.

Though it was not clear on Parsekar’s change of mind, but sources in BJP said among the several factors that made him take a step back was that he would likely be made the party’s state president after the

Lok Sabha

polls.

On Thursday, Parsekar was appointed as a member of state BJP’s election committee to shortlist candidates for the bypolls and Lok Sabha elections.

A day later, Parsekar said he would not quit BJP and his objective was to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hands in the parliamentary elections.

Asked if would not contest the Mandrem bypoll, Parsekar said: “I will continue with BJP. I have never changed party.” He said that for the past 30 years he had been working for the party and his outburst was the reaction to the injustice meted out to him.

“I was angry… I gathered BJP karyakartas and held a meeting… got a good response from them. I will convince the loyal karyakartas that going out of party is not correct,” he said.

Parsekar said the country is behind Modi and “I also feel that we should strengthen his hands”.

For a comfortable victory in the Mandrem bypoll, BJP had been trying to convince Parsekar not to contest the byelections.

Sources said they convinced Parsekar that if he remained with BJP, his interest would be protected after the Lok Sabha polls. Showing the results of the survey conducted in Mandrem recently, they prevailed upon Parsekar that he would commit a blunder if he takes a plunge in the bypolls against BJP.

A source said the team convinced him to avoid giving the opposition a handle to slam BJP at the national level.

BJP didn’t want to take any risk in Mandrem as their star campaigner and chief minister Manohar Parrikar is out of active politics due to illness and would not be available for campaign. BJP wants to put things in order before the party’s parliamentary board announces the names of the candidates for the byelections.

Recently, Parsekar held a meeting with MGP president Pandurang Dhavalikar in Panaji. It led to speculation that Parsekar may join MGP to contest the bypolls.

Mandrem assembly seat had become vacant after Sopte switched sides. Parsekar had demanded BJP ticket to contest bypolls failing which he announced to contest byelections as an Independent candidate.