Amit Shah meets party leaders, no breakthrough on Goa leadership

The BJPs quest to find a replacement for ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar met with a setback on Wednesday as a meeting of top state BJP officials with party President Amit Shah in Delhi failed to resolve the issueParty sources said the meeting attended by state BJP President Vinay Tendulkar and Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik both contenders for the Chief Ministerial slot and South Goa MP Narendra Savoikar remained inconclusiveOur party President is seized of the matter but no decision has been made on the leadership issue yet a BJP leader said on the condition of anonymityThe sources said that a pointed demand made by regional ally Goa Forward to appoint a nonlegislator as a Chief Minister was shot down by Parrikar admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi who is being consultedParrikar suffering from advanced pancreatic cancer has been in and out of hospitals in Goa Mumbai New York and now Delhi since February when his illness was diagnosedThis has led to criticism from the opposition and civil society which have demanded that he should resign to make way for a fully fit Chief Minister who can efficiently discharge official dutiesThere are several options which the BJP leadership has been tinkering with over the last few days ever since the high command took serious note of the criticism about Parrikars absence from officeThe options include Shripad Naik a popular bahujan samaj nonBrahmin caste leader whose presence could be a boon for the BJP which has over the last few years been accused of alienating the lower castesWhile Naik is Parrikars peer in the Goa BJP both leaders have shadowboxed each other on several occasions and are known to head two power centres within the partyThe other options include Vinay Tendulkar a Rajya Sabah MP who has in the past sacrificed ministerial berth as well as a party ticket on leaderships instructions as also Goa Assembly Speaker Pramod SawantSenior state party leaders as well as exMLAs who met National General Secretary Organisation Ram Lal in Goa this week have rejected the proposal to invite a member of the alliance parties to head the coalition governmentSpeaking to IANS Goa Forward President Vijai Sardesai said that he was fine with the delay on part of the BJP to decide on the leadership issueLet them take time But the decision should be a permanent one that keeps the states political stability in mind the Town and Country Planning Minister saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever