Laxmikant Parsekar was defeated by Dayanand Sopte in the 2017 Assembly polls. (File photo)
Senior BJP leader Laxmikant Parsekar on Monday hinted that he could contest the upcoming Mandrem Assembly bypoll as an Independent candidate if his party refused to give him a ticket.
Bypolls were announced in Mandrem and Shiroda after Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar resigned from the Goa Assembly and joined the ruling BJP in October last year. "I have been traditionally contesting from this constituency. Party workers want me to contest the bypoll. They feel if the BJP does not give me a ticket, then I should stand as an Independent," Mr Parsekar said.
Laxmikant Parsekar said he had met BJP state general secretary Satish Dhond and asked him to carry out a survey to check the party's chances of winning Mandrem seat. Without naming Mr Sopte, the former CM said local party workers had not accepted the "new person".
Incidentally, Dayanand Sopte, then with the Congress, had defeated Laxmikant Parsekar in the 2017 Assembly polls.
When asked about the candidate for the bypolls, Goa BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar said the process to select a party candidate for Mandrem and Shirodaconstituencies had not yet started.