Utpal Parrikar Quits BJP, to Fight Goa Assembly Polls as Independent Candidate From Panaji

Goa Assembly Election 2022: On January 20, the BJP had released its first list of 34 candidates for the Goa Assembly polls with Utpal Parrikar's name missing from it.

Goa Assembly Election 2022: After being denied ticket to fight from Goa, Utpal Parrikar, son of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, on Friday said he has resigned from BJP and added that he will be contesting the Goa Assembly Election 2022 as an independent candidate from Panaji constituency. The development comes after days of bargaining and lobbying for the Panaji constituency, which was represented by his father. Giving details, Utpal Parrikar said, “I want to let the people of Panaji decide my political fate”.

Talking about his decision, Utpal Parrikar said the time has come for him to take some stand for values.

“I tried my best even during last and this election to convince my party that I enjoyed not only the support of all the party members, I also enjoy the support of general people of Panaji,” said.

Earlier in the day, Utpal Parrikar resigned as state executive member and also from the primary membership of the BJP. He then sent his resignation letter to Goa BJP president Sadanand Tanavde. Copy of his resignation letter here:

He said despite the efforts, he was unable to get the candidature of Panaji constituency. “It has been given to someone who has opportunistically come in the party in last two years. That’s why I want to go ahead and let the people of Panaji decide my political fate,” he said.

It must be noted that Manohar Parrikar, a three-time Goa Chief Minister and the BJP’s top leader in the seaside state, died in office in 2019. A charismatic and popular leader, he held the Panaji constituency for 25 years.

On Thursday, the BJP had released its first list of 34 candidates for the Goa Assembly polls with Utpal Parrikar’s name missing from it as the party has preferred Atanasio Babush Monserrate over him from Panaji.

Earlier, Utpal Parrikar had expressed his desire to contest from Panaji, his father’s seat, where the party has decided to field Monserrate, who is the sitting MLA and a former Congress leader.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, the party’s poll in-charge for Goa Devendra Fadnavis said for the BJP, the Parrikar family is its own family.

“But from the seat that Utpal wanted to contest, we already have a sitting MLA and it would not be fair to drop him. However, we have given him the option of contesting from two other seats and the talks are progressing in that direction,” Fadnavis said.

The BJP’s list of 34 candidates, which was released by party general secretary Arun Singh along with Fadnavis, includes the names of two couples.

While Monserrate is the saffron party’s nominee from Panaji, his wife has been fielded from Taleigao. Similarly, another former Congress leader Vishwajit Rane will contest on a BJP ticket from Valpoi and his wife Divya Rane from Poriem.