There is an undercurrent of an uprising in the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the moment. The foundations of the disciplined party are being struck hard by the members who had earlier stood by the leadership through thick and thin. In fact, it is some of these very leaders who are beginning to sound the bugle of revolt, and even emissaries of the Central leadership have not been able to quell the dissidence. The BJP is not the same one of the past.
The insistence of former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar to enter the fray in the by-election in Mandrem is not good news for the BJP. The party that has surged forward on the discipline of its members is likely to lose a senior member – a member of its core committee, a former president of the party and a former chief minister – because of a by-election that the party itself has created. Having already lost former minister Mahadev Naik in Shiroda to the Congress, the impending revolt by Parsekar will further damage the party in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
Parsekar’s imminent departure from the party could also shake up the organisation in the North. The reported move to get Manohar Azgaonkar, the MLA of the neighbouring constituency of Pernem and another MGP MLA into the party fold, may be one manner of retaining the party’s clout in the taluka, in the run-up to the by-polls and LS elections. The salve for the party is the return of Ramesh Tawadkar who rejoined the party earlier this week, but his homecoming in Canacona is unlikely to give the BJP any big boost at this point of time. Perhaps he can get the party a few votes in Canacona, but not a major chunk that the likes of Parsekar and Naik can command.
Add to this the constant criticism of the government and its policies by Calangute MLA and Dy Speaker Michael Lobo. The second term MLA has taken on his party’s government in the Assembly, and also outside it, using every opportunity available to attack it. His comments carry weight as he holds public office, and he does not hesitate in making himself heard. He has been spoken to by the party leaders in the past, but that has not stopped the MLA from airing his views which are often contrary to the party’s policy. It is rare to see a BJP MLA take potshots at the party’s government, but Lobo has been doing this quite often.
And then there was the party’s Central emissary BL Santhosh who did not meet with much success in the State, with most of the tasks remaining inconclusive. Santhosh, during his visit to Goa, met Parsekar, but the latter did not acquiesce to the former’s request not to revolt. There are also reports that there was no agreement on a leadership change. The Central party leader left the State, with neither a firm decision nor a success of any kind, indicating just how disparate are the views in the party at the present time.
The party is facing dissidence from its members, and strangely, it is unable to control it. This is not the vintage BJP of the past that one can remember. The BJP in Goa is showing signs of turning into any other party, the kind whose members hold their own interests above that of the party. It may require a major overhaul of the organisation before the BJP can once again make the claim that it is a party with a difference. Welcoming MLAs from other parties into the BJP may not be the answer, as Shiroda and Mandrem have already proved. The party needs to clean up from inside.
