Goa elections: Manohar Parikkar's son quits BJP after failing to get ticket

New Delhi, Jan 22: A day after failing to get a BJP ticket, late BJP leader Manohar Parikkar's son Utpal Parrikar has announced that he is quitting the saffron party. He has decided to contest the election as an independent candidate in the upcoming Goa assembly elections.

"I was left with no other choice. I have resigned from the party and I would be contesting as an independent from Panaji," Utpal Parrikar told reporters. The day before, the ruling BJP nominated from Panaji -- which Manohar Parrikar had represented for over two decades -- its sitting MLA Atanasio Monserrate, one of ten legislators who had joined the saffron party in July 2019 after quitting Congress.

He stated that the resignation was mere formality as the BJP always remains in his heart. "It is a difficult choice for me, I am doing it for the people of Goa. No one should be worried about my political future, people of Goa will do it," he said.

However, he wanted to contest from Panaji where his late father had constested for the last 25 years. The saffron party had given him other constituencies to contest as the party is unwilling to remove the sitting MLA Monserrate.

He said, "Asked whether he would seek support of other political parties, he said the only platform for him was the BJP. If not BJP, then I would go for (contesting as) independent. I will not go for any other political party."

On Thursday, the BJP's Goa in-charge Devendra Fadnavis had said while releasing its first list of candidates that the party offered some other seats to Utpal, but he was not willing to contest from any of them.

However, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal offered him to contest elections from AAP ticket.