With Manohar Parrikar going to Delhi, the State BJP had to find a replacement for him, and find it quickly. The battle for the top post appeared to be between Speaker Rajendra Arlekar and Health minister Laxmikant Parsekar, when Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza threw his hat into the ring, saying he would accept nothing less than the chief minister’s position in the new government.
As the BJP huddled together in confabulations, and held individual meetings with the MLAs, the choice fell upon Parsekar who took over the chief minister on November 8.
