Utpal Parrikar said, “I want to let the people of Panaji decide my political fate”.
Utpal Parrikar, the son of former Union Minister Manohar Parrikar, has quit the BJP after the party refused to offer him ticket for his father’s Panaji seat for the coming assembly elections in Goa. Announcing that he would contest as an Independent candidate, Utpal Parrikar said the time has come for him to “take some stand for my values”.
“I tried my best even during last and this election to convince my party that I enjoyed not only the support of all the party members, I also enjoy the support of general people of Panaji,” he told reporters this evening.
“Despite that, I am unable to get the candidature of Panaji constituency. It has been given to someone who has opportunistically come in the party in last two years… That’s why I want to go ahead and let the people of Panaji decide my political fate,” he said.
Manohar Parrikar, a three-time Goa Chief Minister and the BJP’s top leader in the seaside state, died in office in 2019. A charismatic and popular leader, he held the Panaji constituency for 25 years.
Babush Monserrate, who was his lifelong rival, is now the party’s choice for his constituency over his son.
