Panaji: Rajya Sabha MP and BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Monday said that a new person should get an opportunity to head the party in Goa. He said that ministers should meet the public at the taluka headquarters, and once a week, for half a day, they should sit at the ministerial block at Porvorim to connect with the public.
The BJP has shortlisted seven names for the post of party president. Five of the seven names shortlisted as candidates for its state president are from the Bhandari community. The list of names — former MLAs Damodar Naik, Dilip Parulekar, Dayanand Mandrekar, Dayanand Sopte, Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar, former MP Narendra Sawaikar and Govind Parvatkar — was sent to Delhi.
“Yesterday (Sunday) I completed five years in office (BJP president). Being a party karyakarta, it is a big post. New people should take up the position and they should get an opportunity. If one continues in the position, then there is injustice on the second line. It is not a permanent seat,” Tanavade said.
When asked if there is a need to reach out to minorities in the state, the BJP state president said that 100% govt schemes are made available to minorities in the state and there is no discrimination. “Some people in the party think that minorities are with BJP, and they are not coming out in full force, and he (revenue minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate) said that there is a need to explain to them,” Tanavade said.
On the BJP-MGP alliance announcement, Tanavade said that BJP doesn’t have an MLA at Marcaim, but the MLA belongs to the alliance partner, and the party can continue to work in any constituency. Reacting to MGP president Pandurang ‘Deepak’ Dhavalikar’s statement that he can contest from any constituency from Ponda taluka, Tanavade said that anyone can work in any constituency, but he cannot stake a claim when we are in alliance. “I spoke to him on the issue, and he assured me not to make such a statement again.”
