Parrikar’s style of politics is over: Goa BJP ally

Panaji, July 11 (IANS) BJP ally Goa Forward President and Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai on Thursday said that the age of Parrikar's style of politics was over.

Reacting to the induction of 10 rebel Congress MLAs into the BJP in a late development on Wednesday, which drastically reduces the mathematical relevance of alliance partners to the ruling saffron party, Sardesai also ruled out the possibility of Goa Forward merging with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Parrikar's style of politics is no longer there. This is not being said by me, but by his son. This is the age of new Goan politics. I don't know what it is. In course of time, we will come to know the texture," Sardesai told reporters.

Former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar died on March 17. Parrikar's son Utpal on Wednesday said that Parrikar's brand of politics of trust ended on May 17, while reacting to the BJP's decision to induct 10 rebel Congress MLAs into the party fold.

Sardesai also made an emotional pitch to the BJP High Command, stating that he and his party had remained steadfast allies with the BJP, ever since Goa's coalition government was formed in 2017 and had even distanced himself from efforts made by the Congress to overthrow Parrikar-led government.

"Some people came together to form this government. The central figure (Parrikar) is no longer alive. He knew how the government was formed. Some people, including national leadership of the BJP were also there," Sardesai said, adding that Goa Forward had not "budged an inch" even during political turmoil in Goa earlier this year, which followed when Parrikar was bedridden with cancer.

"I continue to be in the NDA (National Democratic Alliance). It is a fact that my role in forming the government cannot be erased in the political upheaval. That role, leadership of NDA is also there. It is for the senior partner to decide the status of this existence," Sardesai said.

The Congress rebels' plan to join the BJP was several months old, Sardesai said, adding that Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, who led the rebellion, had urged him to join an attempt to either overthrow the government or join the BJP lock, stock and barrel.

He also added that the government was stable with 23 MLAs. "Why this has been done, I do not know yet. If the government was falling then I could understand," he said, when asked whether the BJP needed to induct 10 more Congress rebels into its fold.

Refusing to politically speculate about what would happen in the coming days, vis-a-vis his relationship with the ruling BJP, Sardesai said: "In Goa anything can happen".