Halarnkar may head State NCP

Halarnkar may head State NCP
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Nationalist Congress Party’s Sawantwadi MLA, Deepak Kesarkar ~ likely to be the observer of the high command in the state ~ was in the state in a bid to firm up a consensus on a new president for the state unit.
Former tourism minister Nilkanth Halarnkar could be the likely candidate after his erstwhile cabinet colleague Jose Philip D’ Souza is said to have opted out of the race. Sources say that Halarnkar could also be in the reckoning for the North Goa Lok Sabha seat that was contested by the NCP the last time.
However, there are reports that Ravi Naik’s name also figures in the list since at a recent meeting his name was proposed by a former minister and seconded by Yuri Alemao.
Incidentally, Yuri is slated to be the next NCP youth wing chief.
Party sources say that NCP supremo and Union Minister, Sharad Pawar is likely to visit the state by the end of the month, but nothing has been confirmed as yet.
Last time, the party had imported a candidate, Jitendra Deshprabhu as its North Goa candidate and he came very close to upsetting the applecart of sitting BJP MP, Shripad Naik.
This time after the generally dismal performance by the parent NCP during the previous Lok Sabha elections and its washout at the March assembly elections, the party has a lot on its mind.