Manohar Parrikar can never function without control. But he now needs a remote because even two days in Goa may not be enough for the Defence Minister.
If the BJP was looking elsewhere for replacement for Parrikar, the former Chief Minister looked at who was closest- both literally and figuratively, to pick Siddharth Cuncolienkar as the BJP’s choice for the Panjim assembly seat. His leap, from the man who was always around his master- fielding and filtering telephone calls (he did the filtering with furious energy), organizing files and papers, to the man who will replace him will be huge. Cuncolienkar will, if he pulls it off, will be Panjim’s O Paneerselvan. To the uninitiated he is Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, and Jayalalitha’s puppet, in a land which knows only one Chief Minister- Jayalalitha. But unlike the Tamil Nadu CM, Panjim’s potential MLA will have to do more than hand hold. He cannot be Bharat who ruled Ayodhya by keeping Ram’s wooden sandals at the foot of the throne he never sat on. He cannot be the guy who keeps the seat warm. He has to be the face of BJP GenX who will move on, beyond the old timers, who aren’t too pleased with this new kid on the block.
The BJP ‘mandal’ and the state unit will do all that it takes to win this prestige battle, at a time when the party’s romance with Goa is going through that uneasy stage when the relationship is intact but the marriage has no vigour. It must not be forgotten that close to 50 % of those who voted for Parrikar did more so because they wanted Goa’s Chief Minister to be from their town. This cut across religious and caste equations.
From industry captains to mining barons to CEO’s of companies voted for Parrikar. This is the non-cadre, non-party vote. The question is, will this lot, which does not call Parrikar ‘bhai’ vote for his boy?
But he will face in-house problems too. He is no Parrikar who will be able to nip even a whiff of dissidence. Make no mistake, there are people in BJP who would love to see him lose because if he wins, he is through not just for the next two years but five more years after that. There is a loosely called ‘Ribandar gang’ led by Rupesh Halarnkar who vehemently opposes him. And he has the secret blessings of many BJP local leaders including some councilors. Sushant Naik of Altinho is another stumbling block with a small sprinkling of supporters. While these names wouldn’t even be discussed in normal times, they come into the frame at a time like this, when senior (albeit past their political sell by date) leaders like ex-Mayors Ashok Naik and Vaidehi Naik aren’t really expected to give Cuncolienkar a bear hug and egg him on.
And then there is Babush Monseratte. No one quite knows whether he is friend or foe of the BJP yet but his recent remark to Herald that he was contesting because he did not want a ‘chaprasi’ to be the Panjim MLA has irked many in the party. If he at all contests, BJP has a cause for worry because Monseratte will play to win, even if means weaning away some of the disgruntled forces. Mayor Furtado, a front runner for the Congress ticket has his best bet in pushing the clean, corruption free development agenda. However Monseratte’s presence- ironically an anti thesis of these attributes, barring a skewed version of development- makes Furtado’s task tougher. On the other hand, if Monserrate indeed does go flat out against the BJP, he will give Cuncolienkar a tough run too.
For this day though, the man Friday has become the man. Chosen by his master. To be his masters voice.
