BJP denied Parrikar’s son ticket because of ‘family raj’

Panaji, May 9 (IANS) Former Defence Minister late Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar may have been denied a ticket for the May 19 Panaji Assembly bypoll because of constant bombardment by the media over dynasty politics, state BJP spokesperson and Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, Godinho also expressed confidence about BJP winning the Assembly bypoll in Panaji, which has been retained by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 1994.

When asked whether the issue of "family raj" could have weighed in on the minds of BJP's central leadership while cancelling the candidature of Utpal Parrikar, Godinho said: "It was the press which was questioning Utpal Parrikar's candidature. Every newspaper and every press member wrote about it. So perhaps that could be one of the factors, which weighed in heavily on their (BJP's central leadership) minds at that point of time, because the BJP has always been projected as a party with a difference."

After Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar died in office on March 17, his elder son, Utpal Parrikar, was tipped to be fielded as a BJP candidate for the Panaji Assembly bypoll, especially since state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged him to enter electoral politics.

Utpal Parrikar also campaigned for the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls in Goa, but when it came to finalisation of the candidate for the bypolls, former Panaji MLA and Manohar Parrikar aide Sidharth Kuncalienkar pipped him to the post.

After being denied a ticket, Utpal Parrikar described it as an "obstacle" in the way of his efforts to conduct a "clean up".