Goa polls: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar may lead campaign, says BJP state chief

Panaji: Rubbishing media reports that Manohar Parrikar would return as Goa’s Chief Minister, state BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar on Tuesday, said that the Defence Minister may lead the party’s campaign for state Assembly polls next year. “There is a strong possibility that he might lead the election campaign for 2017 polls in Goa. He is required to counter the agenda put forth by Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) on Medium of Instruction (MoI) issue,” Tendulkar told PTI. Notably, the BBSM is propagating the mother tongue as the MOI in elementary education in Goa, and stopping of grants to schools teaching in English medium. RSS state unit chief Subhash Velingkar has also been criticising BJP and Parrikar for their alleged failure to protect the interest of regional languages in Goa’s MoI policy. [caption id=“attachment_2762010” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Manohar Parrikar. PIB.[/caption] On reports in a section of local media that Parrikar may return as Chief Minister before the state Assembly polls, Tendulkar said, “There are no such discussions at party level over the issue. The possibility of him returning seems to be bleak as we are almost nine months away from the elections and Parrikar’s return to the state as CM would necessitate the by-election within six months,” he said. “Then there would be state elections due in March next year. I don’t think he will allow so many elections,” Tendulkar said. Parrikar rode the BJP to victory in the 2012 Goa Assembly elections but had to resign from the post of Chief Minister when he was elevated as Defence Minister at the Centre.