Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Later this month, Sadanand Tanavade, the current state party president, will be replaced by a new president for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Goa unit.
Among the candidates for the position and those the party is considering are Narendra Sawaikar, Damodar “Damu” Naik, Dilip Parulekar, Dayanand Mandrekar, and Dayanand Sopte. While several were former MLAs, Sawaikar has served as a member of parliament.
On January 12, 2020, Tanavade, the state BJP general secretary at the time, was elected without a challenge to the coveted post. He assumed Vinay Tendulkar’s responsibilities.
In addition to other duties, the newly elected state BJP president will be responsible for leading the party to victory in the 2027 Goa assembly elections.
In light of this situation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has already begun holding discussions with key party state leaders in order to choose a qualified candidate to compete in the specific election.
In July 2023, Tanavade was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Goa. However, the party did not follow its one-person-one-post policy and allowed Tanavade to remain the state BJP president. Since he had already led the BJP to victory in the 2022 state assembly elections and no party member was in the running to succeed him right away, the choice was most likely made.
Tanavade, meanwhile, stated on Thursday that the BJP is depending on its own advantages rather than the shortcomings of its political opponents to win the next elections.
Speaking to the media after a meeting at the Margao headquarters with South Goa district key workers and party legislators, Tanavade stated that the 2027 assembly elections are already being prepared for.
According to him, the party has already laid the foundation by forming committees at the booth, Mandal, and Zilla levels that will work closely together during the upcoming state elections.
