The Shiv Sena has dropped its candidate in Goa’s Panaji in favour of former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal, who is running as an independent in the February 14 state election after being passed over by the BJP. Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena MP, had earlier urged all opposition parties to support Utpal Parrikar if he did not receive a BJP ticket to contest from Panaji.
“We’re sticking to our word. Shailendra Velingkar, the Shiv Sena’s candidate in Panaji, has withdrawn his candidacy. Not only that, but our employees will fully support Utpal Parrikar. We believe that the fight for Panaji is about more than just elections; it is also about the purification of Goa politics (sic),” Sanjay Raut said in a tweet.
Raut’s tweet included a quote from Utpal Parrikar, who appeared to be criticising the BJP for selecting Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate: “You will give ticket to the person with criminal antecedent in the constituency represented by late Manohar Parrikar?”
Utpal Parrikar, an engineer, says he is betting his political career on defeating the BJP’s candidate in Panaji, especially since his father built the party from the ground up in Goa, particularly in this constituency.
Manohar Parrikar, the third Chief Minister of Gujarat, died in 2019. He was mayor of Panaji for 25 years. In the by-election that followed Parrikar’s death, his long-time rival Babush Monserrate, who was accused of rape, won as a Congress candidate but later switched to the BJP.
Utpal Parrikar had urged the BJP to nominate him this time, but the party chose to stick with Monserrate instead, offering him a different constituency.
Mr Parrikar has received open support from the Shiv Sena and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
With inputs from News18