Late last week Babush Monserrate was soaking in some rare moments of sun in front of Casa Monseratte in Taleigao. Leaning against a car with some of his friends/supporters in a blue tee and jeans, he looked, even at a glance, a man who is ready to come back home. Home has always been Taleigao. But the big ask is if Monseratte will be back in the saffron “parivar”, a family whose doors have never quite been closed to him, even though he has walked out of it when he felt like. He is already looking to reboot his political career but he has a hitch. Viruses of the past may be back to haunt him.
He has been controversy’s favourite child. Whether it was his role in the Regional Plan or when he led the attack on the police station or when he was stopped at Mumbai airport with large amounts of foreign currency. He has faced it all and also wriggled out of it.
Sources say that while Monserrate will contest from Taleigao, wife Jennifer will shift to another, as yet, undisclosed constituency, which is currently being held by an independent MLA.
Undoubtedly, Monserrate still enjoys support in Taleigao, despite his wife being theMLA of the constituency. However, what remains to be seen is whether he can convert that support into votes, especially since his wife won by a vapour-thin margin in the 2012 Assembly polls against BJP’s Dattaprasad Naik.
With Monseratte cozying up to the BJP yet again, this puts both him and Naik in an extremely piquant political situation. Naik could well be making plans to re-contest from Taleigao and has been working hard with the BJP mandal in the constituency. “I do not know who will be the next party candidate. The party seniors will tell me. I am a loyal soldier of the BJP and will abide by any decision they take,” Naik told Herald.
His party president’s words may reassure him. BJP State president Vinay Tendulkar told Herald, “BJP has no issues if Babush contests from Taleigao, we have our candidate and our candidate will win the election, party in next polls trying to reach 26 MLAs from the strength of 21 now and one of the MLA I am counting is from Taleigao” Vinay Tendulkar, BJP Goa President said. He said that Babush joining BJP has not been discussed in party so far.
But the public posturing apart, Tendulkar’s statement can be read again, barring he first part of the first sentence, a month before the election and it may still hold true if Monerrate is the official BJP candidate.
Recently, there had been a move to induct Monserrate in the cabinet, though sources in the BJP-led government say that a few party legislators opposed his entry in the cabinet even before any official announcement to the effect could be made by the party seniors.
