Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar says he hasn't decided about contesting from his father's seat
Utpal Parrikar, the elder son of former Goa chief minister and BJP leader Manohar Parrikar, said today that he has not yet thought about contesting the Panaji by-election and would take a call on it at the "right time".
The Panaji Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of Manohar Parrikar on March 17. A section of BJP workers in Panaji has been pressing for Utpal Parrikar's candidature there.
"At present I have not thought about it. But I will have to think when the time is right," he said.
When asked if the BJP has approached him with the offer to contest the Panaji by-election, Utpal Parrikar said that since it was still a period of mourning for him, no such discussion has happened so far.
"I am still struggling with the grief of my father's death, that is why I have not yet decided anything," he said.
Earlier this month, BJP Goa Unit President Vinay Tendulkar had claimed that the party's national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna had approached Utpal Parrikar and his brother, Abhijat Parrikar, urging them to take part in BJP's activities.