Meeting with Goa Governor: BJP’s Vishwajit Rane hits out at media for confusing personal with political 

Speculation that Vishwajit Rane would be the next Goa Chief Minister has gathered momentum after his rival Pramod Sawant’s thin victory margin in the Assembly election

While the question of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forming the new government in Goa is beyond any shadow of doubt, there is considerable suspense over the Chief Minister’s post, especially given former Goa CM Pramod Sawant’s wafer-thin victory margin as opposed to his alleged rival Vishwajit Rane’s emphatic margin in the March 10 poll results.

On Saturday, Mr. Vishwajit Rane’s visit to Goa Governor P. S. Shreedharan Pillai at the Raj Bhavan set rumour mills buzzing overtime given the persistent speculation of him eyeing the Chief Minister’s post and his alleged rivalry within the BJP with Mr. Sawant.

Confirming the visit, the former Goa Health Minister and MLA-elect from Valpoi constituency clarified that his call on the Governor was “purely personal and not political”.

Mr. Vishwajit Rane, the son of stalwart Congressman Pratapsingh Rane, said that his visit was to invite the Governor to his constituency and take his blessings following the victory in the Assembly election.

Miffed at the media scrutinising his every move, he retorted on Twitter late on Saturday that “everything isn’t political”, while tagging a local media channel as well as a national English broadcast news channel.

“Sad state of journalism…where a personal visit to His Excellency Hon’ble Governor of Goa has been made [into] such a stir. It was solely a personal visit to invite him to my constituency and take his blessings following my victory in the Assembly election,” tweeted an irate Mr. Vishwajit Rane.

A former Congressman himself, the younger Rane, who has represented the Valpoi Assembly seat since 2007, switched sides to join the BJP after the 2017 Assembly election.