Snubbed By BJP, Manohar Parrikar's Son To File Goa Seat Papers Tomorrow
NDTV
Utpal Parrikar was denied a ticket by the BJP from Panaji, a constituency which his father and party veteran had represented for more than two decades.
Utpal Parrikar, son of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who quit the BJP and announced he would contest next month's Goa Assembly elections from Panaji as an independent, will file his nomination on Thursday morning, setting up a contest with his former party's candidate Atanasio 'Babush' Monserrate.
Mr Parrikar had said that quitting the party was the "most difficult" decision, but he was ready to withdraw from the poll race if the BJP fields a "good candidate" from the constituency - seen as a reference to criminal cases against Mr Monserrate, who was his father's long-time rival.
Mr Parrikar was denied a ticket by the BJP from Panaji, a constituency which his father and party veteran had represented for more than two decades. Upset over the decision, Mr Parrikar on Friday quit the BJP and said he would fight the February 14 elections from the Panaji seat as an independent.
The BJP has nominated from Panaji its sitting MLA Babush Monserrate, one of ten legislators who had joined the BJP in July 2019 after quitting Congress. Mr Monserrate is facing criminal cases, including a case of rape of a teenager.
