Team Herald
PANJIM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced that announced Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar will lead the party in the campaign for the 2017 State Assembly elections.
Taking an early start, State unit President Vinay Tendulkar said the party will project Parsekar as the CM candidate in the forthcoming elections that it expects to win by a huge margin.
“Our present CM will be the face of the party for the 2017 elections. We will contest the elections under his leadership. BJP will once again form the government as we are certain to win the upcoming elections too,” he said.
Reacting to this Parsekar said he is ready to accept every responsibility the party wants him to take up for the 2017 Assembly elections.
“I have always followed the party’s order. If the party wants me to take up the responsibility I am ready to do so. It is a big responsibility and I assure to do justice,” Parsekar said.
The Chief Minister, however, said the party has so far not divulged anything about him leading the election campaign and he presumes that it is the view of the party President. “There is still one year left for the election and I don’t think the party will take any such decision at this stage. But even then I am ready to accept it,” he said.
Parsekar, took over reins from Manohar Parrikar in November last year after the latter was inducted as Defence minister in the Union cabinet. Parrikar had been the face of the BJP in the campaign for the March 2012 elections, in which BJP won a majority.
“When the Chief Minister’s position came to me from Manohar Parrikar, I found the responsibility too big, in fact, beyond my capability. But in the last one year, with the support of the public and media, I have tried my best and now the responsibility looks like a routine job,” Parsekar said.
Speaking on the preparations for the party elections scheduled in January 2016 Tendulkar said, “Our karyakartas (workers) have conducted review meetings across 30 constituencies to further strengthen the party’s grassroots level committees. The remaining 10 constituencies will be completed by January 3, 2016.”
Tendulkar, who completes his three year tenure as party chief is likely to be re-elected. Sources confirm that the BJP cadres and leaders are unanimous on a second term for him.
Meanwhile, senior leaders said the party is gearing up for Defence minister Manohar Parrikar’s 60th birthday on December 13. They said they expected an attendance of nearly 50,000 people at the celebrations to be held at Panjim Gymkhana. “We will start giving out invitations and putting up banners from Friday,” Tendulkar said in the presence of Panjim MLA Siddharth Kuncalienkar.
