Manohar Parrikar predicts BJP sweep in Goa, but cadres see a cliffhanger

PANAJI: Manohar Parrikar, Union defence minister and BJP’s most popular leader in Goa, is confident that his party will retain power in the coastal state without any post-poll alliance, although most politicians expect this elections to be a close affair with four serious contenders.

“The BJP will get a clear majority, a two-third majority in fact,” Parrikar told ET at BJP’s Panaji office. He said there is no question of a post-poll alliance for BJP.

But not all his party cadre share Parrikar’s optimism. Candidates of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Vijay Sardesai’s Goa Forward Party, and an alliance between Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Goa Suraksha Manch and Shiv Sena may prove strong contenders in several seats even as Congress remains BJP’s main rival.

Multiple candidates vying for the average 25,000 voters in each constituency and late manifestos have turned the polls into a cliffhanger, some BJP leaders said. BJP had won 21 of 40 seats in 2012 when it had a pre-poll pact with MGP that won another three seats.

MGP broke ties with BJP early this month. Its leader Sudin Dhavalikar has said he will support BJP to form a government if it agrees to make him the chief minister. Dhavalikar is said to be close to BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.

Parrikar, though, ruled out any post-poll alliance with MGP. In fact, BJP refers to MGP as “jokers in a rummy game”, mocking their history of aligning with any party.