BJP legislature party meeting to elect new Goa CM tomorrow

Panaji, Sep 16: With the health of Manohar Parrikar said to be deteriorating, BJP's legislature party meeting to elect a new Chief Minister for Goa would be held tomorrow.

Current chief minister Parrikar was flown to New Delhi for treatment at the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Saturday afternoon. Parrikar, who suffers from a pancreatic ailment, is being examined by a team of doctors.

The matter of Goa chief minister was discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah a couple of days ago and now BJP national organising secretary Ram Lal and senior BJP leader B L Santosh have been sent to Goa to look into the matter.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Michael Lobo, who is the deputy speaker of the Goa Assembly, told PTI on Saturday that the party emissaries would suggest to allies Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) that they should become part of the saffron party.

GFP and MGP are allies of the BJP in Goa. MGP, with its three legislators, has given support to the BJP to form the government in the state along with the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and other independent legislators.

Leadership is a sensitive issue, with Parrikar seen as the glue holding the BJP's alliance together in Goa. Two of the BJP's allies including Dhavalikar's MGP had made their joining the alliance in 2017 conditional to Manohar Parrikar leading the government.