Manohar Parrikar was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi earlier this month. (File)
Highlights
- Congress staked claim to power in Goa, in Manohar Parrikar's absence
- He has been in and out of hospitals in the last few months
- There will soon be reshuffle of ministers and portfolios, Amit Shah said
Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will continue to helm the state, but there will be a reshuffle of his ministers, BJP national president Amit Shah confirmed with a tweet today. The decision to rearrange the Goa cabinet was taken after the BJP allies refused to accept a Maharashtra Gomantak Party or MGP, an ally in the state, minister as Mr Parrikar's deputy, prompting Mr Shah to work out a new political permutation.
"It has been decided during a discussion with the Goa BJP core team that Manohar Parrikar will continue to lead the Goa government. There will soon be a reshuffle of ministers and their portfolios," Mr Shah tweeted.
The BJP president had stepped in to handle a potential crisis in Goa, where the Congress has staked claim to power in the absence of the 62-year-old chief minister, who has been undergoing treatment at Delhi's AIIMS.
Mr Shah had spoken to Goa Forward's Vijay Sardesai, a minister in the BJP-led government, after the allies rejected the suggestion to have Sudhin Dhavalikar, a minister from the Maharashtra Gomantak Party or MGP, take charge as the deputy chief minister.
"We are waiting to hear from Amit Shah who has said that they will get back to us with a proposal," Mr Sardesai had told NDTV.
As the allies demanded a long-term solution till Mr Parrikar's return, Amit Shah sent a team of BJP leaders led by general secretary Ram Lal, Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar and Union Minister of State Shripad Naik to analyse the political situation in the coastal state.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been in and out of hospitals in the last few months. As he frequently flew out of Goa for treatment, the Congress alleged that the administration had "collapsed" in his absence and staked claim to form the government. The party even said that it had the support of over 21 legislators in the assembly.
"We need the support of 21 MLAs and we have more than that," Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said.
However, the BJP rubbished the opposition's claim and stressed that the alliance government in Goa is stable.
In the 40-member Goa assembly, the Congress is the largest party with 16 seats, but it failed to stitch an alliance after the 2017 Goa election. The BJP managed a coalition with Goan parties and formed the government with the Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three independents.