Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Goa in-charge and Opposition Leader of the Maharashtra Legislative Party Shri Devendra Fadnavis has expressed confidence that the party will retain power Goa by winning absolute majority in the ensuing 2022 assembly polls.
Fadnavis, who concluded his two-day visit to Goa on Tuesday, remembered then Chief Minister late Shri Manohar Parrikar stating the party is consistently working to preserve Parrikar’sParrikar’s legacy.
“”BJP is working to preserve the legacy of Manohar Parrikar. The government, under the leadership of the present Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, is working well. BJP will get a huge victory in the forthcoming assembly elections,”” Fadnavis said while speaking in an interview.
On his maiden visit to the State as party’sparty’s election in-charge, the senior leader insisted that though the party is holding a strong ground in Goa, it should not be complacent. “”Being my first visit on my appointment as BJP Goa election in-charge, I emphasised on meeting more and more people. At the same time, I held interactions with everyone right from karyakartas to office bearers, MLAs, ministers and MPs,”” he said.
“”Each one of them I interacted with is confident that BJP will retain power in Goa. In my personal opinion, although we hold a strong ground, we should not be complacent and work with full strength and force to achieve our goal,”” he added.
After BJP State President Sadanand Tanavade, Fadnavis too ruled out alliance in the upcoming elections. The election in charge claimed that BJP would fight on its symbol.
Questioned about the ”problem of plenty” considering that many MLAs and ex-MLAs are harbouring a desire to contest the polls on the party ticket, Fadnavis opined that various factors, including winnability, will be counted while allocating tickets to candidates.
He revealed that the party has carried out a series of surveys based on which an assessment will be conducted. “”Winnability will be a major factor. If anyone has performed poorly, then they will not deserve the ticket. The Parliamentary Board will be the final authority to decide on ticket allocation,”” he stated.
Fadnavis supported the government’sgovernment’s move allotting major portfolios to MLAs who defected Congress to join BJP in 2019. The election in-charge was replying to another question about some disappointed party leaders. “”We have a commitment towards MLAs who quit their party to join our symbol. But we also have a commitment to our loyalists,”” he said, adding, “”We wanted to give a stable government. Would the government be stable if they didn’tdidn’t join us? No. So ultimately… Everything has its cost. When 10 people are sacrificing their party and joining us, we have to give them a post. It is pure politics, not to be taken in the wrong sense.””
Fadnavis went on to add that this should be accepted by the original party workers and leaders as everyone has a priority to ensure BJP remains in power. “”Across many places, our karyakartas have understood the role of the party. The leaders should accept it now,”” he appealed.
Commenting on the long-debated family raj in the State, Fadnavis said that BJP has no tradition of giving tickets to more than one member of the same family but with a few exceptions. “”But the politics in Goa is a little different. Since the constituencies are small, some existing leaders are strong and powerful. This allows two members of the same family to get a ticket in Goa as an exception to the rule. But this will be the only exception,”” he explained.
Replying to allegations made by the Congress that their leaders were being ”kidnapped” to maintain a stable government, Fadnavis refutes the contention claiming the Congress party has split in many ways as it also struggles with rising differences and infighting.
“”Many quit the Congress party to join BJP since they knew they have no political future in Congress. All these leaders are happy to see a strong cadre of workers in the BJP today,”” he said.
So who will be the next CM? Fadnavis said he has no right to decide, and it will be senior leaders and Parliamentary Board’sBoard’s prerogative to chose one. But in the current situation, Fadnavis said, the election will be fought under the leadership of current CM Pramod Sawant.
“”Sawant has done an excellent job in the last two and a half years. His work has been praised by Hony Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi himself and the party’sparty’s national president Shri JP Nadda. Sawant’sSawant’s working method, simplicity, transparency, and accessibility to the public make it clear that he is a hit in the BJP in Goa,”” Fadnavis said.
In the last couple of days, Congress’Congress’ P Chidambaram, AAP Convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his presence in Goa created a high profile political scenario. To this, Fadnavis said he was here to help the party.
“”I will do whatever I can to get the BJP elected by majority votes. But the credit for the ultimate success will go to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, party MLAs, ministers, local office bearers and leaders, as well as karyakartas,”” he said.
Fadnavis further observed that Kejriwal’sKejriwal’s way of politics indicates he is not fighting to win any election in the country but to confuse thThere policy is that neither will his party when it comes to Congresswin nor will he let other parties win. When it comes to Congress, there is no coordination among their leaders, and this party seems to be divided for several reasons. Given the overall situation, the BJP has a better chance of coming back to power,”” Fadnavis said.
No matter the election scenes, there is an atmosphere of anti-government sentiment everywhere, and Goa is no exception. The only solution is to increase your communication with people, Fadnavis said, to dispel doubts from the people’s minds. We will definitely do that, he said.
The senior leader also refuted allegations that BJP seems to be anti-minority. “”There is no reason for people from the minority community to go against the BJP. Whether it is the central or the state government, all the schemes are for every single community, and everyone is taking advantage of it,”” he said.
Fadnavis also referred to Goa’sGoa’s present position of sitting MLAs wherein the party has the largest MLAs from the Christian community. “”Therefore, the people of the minority community should remove the misconceptions about the BJP and stay with the party,”” he appealed.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis met senior Congress MLA and ex-CM Shri Pratap Sing Rane at his residence yesterday over dinner. When asked about this, Fadnavis said it was a courtesy visit.
“”He is one of the tallest leaders of Goa. He has served 50 years in the legislative assembly. I went to his place to seek his blessings athe nd get some words of wisdom. We also spoke on politics of Goa, its history and how politics unfolded in Goa. I also requested him to give his blessings to the party, his son and my friend Shri Vishwajit Rane for the coming elections,”” he said.
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