Panaji, Goa: In 2000, when Manohar Parrikar took charge as chief
minister of Goa, he brought a semblance of stability to the Goan political
landscape of the 80s and 90s, which had seen change of 13 governments in
just 12 years. 

Today, his absence has
plunged the coastal state into political uncertainty once again. Chinks have
appeared in the BJP unit in the state even as the 62-year-old IIT-Bombay
alumnus remains away for treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer. In the
latest instance of infighting in the BJP, former
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and state party president Vinay Tendulkar
recently got into a public spat over the issue of inducting two Congressmen
into the party-fold. Parsekar was especially
angry over party’s decision to induct his political arch rival and former
Congress MLA Dayanand Sopte into the BJP. As
BJP struggles to handle leadership vacuum in the state, 101 Reporters traces
the rise of the kar sevak vis-à-vis rise of the saffron
party in India’s smallest state. Parrikar
and the BJP first forayed into the state Assembly in 1994. “When Parrikar was contesting his first elections in 1994
from Panaji Assembly constituency, I went around and introduced him to people.
I remember telling them, ‘Meet Manohar, he is our boy’,” recalls Subhash
Velingkar, the then RSS chief of Goa. It was Parikkar’s contribution to Ram Janmabhoomi Movement that
elevated him in the right-wing organization and put him on the path to
political power. Parrikar was working as an RSS pracharak for North Goa
district since 1989 and had led a batch of karsevaks who travelled to Ayodhya in
1992 when Babri Masjid was demolished. Senior BJP leader and former secretary of state Subhash Salkar,
who had accompanied Parrikar to Ayodhya, said, “Ayodhya issue was a major
turning point in the career of Parrikar. It was also a turning point for BJP in
Goa. Soon after, Parrikar became MLA from Panaji constituency for the first
time and there was no looking back for him.” Just when Parrikar was beginning to establish himself as a force
to reckon with, getting three
former Congress ministers arrested for ‘scams’ soon after assuming charge as BJP’s
first CM in Goa in 2000, he had a fallout with his long-time friend Velingkar. Velingkar was unhappy after Parrikar failed to
keep his promise of introducing Marathi and Konkani languages as medium of
instruction in elementary education. But he fondly remembers the first election that Parrikar won in
2000. “Parrikar spent only Rs 26,000 for campaigning and got elected. Our rival
spent Rs 50 lakh in trying to woo voters, but was defeated,” said Velingkar. Parrikar
was at the helm of things from 2000-2002, 2002-2005, 2012-2014 and then since
2017. Parrikar’s ultimate victory was during 2012 elections when the BJP came to power with
a majority. Of the 40 seats in the Assembly, BJP legislators
occupied 21. Laxmikant Parsekar admits that it was Parrikar who took the
party to new heights in Goa. “Parrikar’s charm worked like a driving engine for
the growth of the party. But he was also behind the party’s poor performance in
2017. It was Parrikar who had chosen the candidates,” said Parsekar. In 2017 elections, <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-size: initial; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">incumbent
chief minister Parsekar had lost his&nbsp;Mandrem seat to Dayanand Sopte
who had joined the Congress in 2012. <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-size: initial; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Parsekar
had taken over as chief minister in 2014 after Parrikar left for New Delhi to
take up office as the Union minister for defence in Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s cabinet.<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-size: initial; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> <span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; font-family: Charter; font-size: 20px; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-size: initial; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">As chief minister of Goa, Parrikar was known
for his decisiveness. He undertook several infrastructure projects to provide better
connectivity to Goa and enabled it to become the permanent location of the
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2004. This year, Parrikar’s name
was dragged into a controversy related to renewal of 88 mining leases in the
state. Parsekar, who is facing a probe in connection with the case, has claimed
that the policy for the renewals was formulated during Parrikar’s previous
tenure as CM. Political observers say that Parrikar has long remained the face
of the BJP in Goan politics, overshadowing all other party leaders, so much so
that BJP is now left scrambling for a reliable alternative. Rajendra Desai, a senior journalist and editor at Marathi
Newspaper Dainik Herald, said, “BJP never had a chance to
see organic growth of the party under the leadership of Parrikar. He went on inducting
leaders from other parties to form governments. BJP leaders who lost elections
disappeared. It was Parrikar Janata Party all through. BJP had several credible
leaders who could rub shoulders with Parrikar. But where are they now?” BJP leader and former State Assembly Speaker Rajendra Arlekar
admitted that Parrikar’s contribution to the party in Goa was significant, but
added that the saffron party rose in Goa due to its efforts and not because of any
one person. Arlekar, who was among the first BJP MLAs in the state, said, “Parrikar’s
absence has definitely created a leadership vacuum but there will be other
leaders to fill his shoes.”