Naik-Parrikar sideshow hits BJP HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times Panaji, February 03, 2012
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which sees a “favourable political climate” prevailing in Goa in the run-up to the March 3 assembly polls, is working hard to placate the party’s sulking North Goa MP Shripad Naik. Naik, projected by the party as the undisputed leader of backward classes for long, has been denied permission to enter state politics despite his keenness. The three-time MP has threatened to keep away from campaigning. He has also refused to participate in a pre-poll mass contact programme led by opposition leader Manohar Parrikar. “The party has to explain why I was left out. If my presence is not needed here, why should I campaign? Let the candidates’ list be out, I will decide after that,” said Naik. Senior BJP leaders are in touch with Naik, trying to paper over the cracks. The party’s central leadership, however, appears unwilling to disturb Parrikar, a Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (a powerful upper caste). According to BJP insiders, the party fears Naik’s entry into the state poll will create two power blocs in Goa. Moreover, the party wants to avoid a Lok Sabha by-election, which would be necessitated if Naik, who enjoys the backing of Maharashtra strongman Gopinath Munde, quits his seat for state-level politics. The Naik and Parrikar sideshow is giving the BJP the jitters, especially with the ruling Congress -- pushed to the wall by several scams including illegal mining -- moving in to woo the backward classes, citing the “treatment” meted out to the MP. Parrikar, however, brushed aside talk of rift in the party. “He (Naik) is a senior leader who contributed much in building the party in the state. He will not do anything which weakens the party.” http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Goa/Naik-Parrikar-sideshow-hits-BJP/Article1-805922.aspx * * * Crisis in BJP as Shripad declines ticket Feb 6, 2012, 03.14AM IST PANAJI: North Goa BJP MP Shripad Naik sprung a surprise on Sunday after he declined the party offer of a ticket to contest from the newly demarcated Porvorim constituency in next month's Goa assembly polls. Naik, who confirmed his inability to contest from Porvorim, said, "I have less time to carry out my campaign." He later flew to Delhi. The announcement triggered a crisis in the BJP and opposition leader Manohar Parrikar and state unit president Laxmikant Parsekar flew to Delhi to discuss the issue with party brass, sources said. After much dilly-dallying the party had allotted Naik the ticket, considering the adverse impact on the party prospects, as Naik has a sizeable clout with bhaujan samaj voters. Party sources had said the high command was not keen on Naik's return to state politics as it could trigger a tussle for the CM's post if BJP wins. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Crisis-in-BJP-as-Shripad-declines-ticket/articleshow/11772357.cms * * * Goa Assembly Election 2012: Rift in Goa BJP settled, says Nitin Gadkari IANS Feb 5, 2012, 03.55PM IST PANAJI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still hasn't finalised its chief ministerial candidate for the March 3 polls in Goa, even as party president Nitin Gadkari claimed Sunday that the two warring factions within the party had buried the hatchet. "We are all going to the elections together. Manohar Parrikar, Shripad Naik, our president and leaders of the MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, BJP's poll partner for the assembly election)," a guarded Gadkari said, when asked why the party had not finalised a chief ministerial candidate for the elections, as has been the norm in the past polls. Ads by Google A caste-based war between Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar (a Brahmin) and North Goa MP Shripad Naik (a Bhandari) has created doubts in the rank and file of the BJP, which has failed to project a united front even during the party's pre-poll campaign. The feud has a remarkable semblance to the Nitin Gadkari-Gopinath Munde tussle in Maharashtra last year, when the BJP's Brahmin and OBC leaders respectively slugged it out over the appointment of office bearers. The tension between Naik, who has always been projected as a mass OBC leader by the BJP and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who has a smaller, but cult-like following amongst the Goa's urban elite and the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) sections, has largely derailed the party's pre-election campaigneering agenda. Naik has publicly opted out of the Jan Sampark yatra, launched by the party to drum up support across the state before the elections, after the BJP leadership in New Delhi thumbed down Naik's plan to contest the state assembly elections. Gadkari said that the outstanding "issues" concerning Naik were an "internal party matter" and had been resolved. "All issues have been resolved. They were an internal party matter. Shripad Naik will contest the assembly elections in Goa. The party's parliamentary board will decide which constituency he will contest from," Gadkari said. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-02-05/news/31027069_1_shripad-naik-assembly-elections-goa-bjp --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------