Utpal Parrikar Denied BJP Ticket, Divya Rane may Contest against her Congress Father-in-Law

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Jan 20: Even as the BJP refused a ticket to the son of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, it has set a situation for a possible father-in-law daughter-in-law duel in one of the seats in the 40-member Goa Assembly.

In the first lot of 34 candidates released on Thursday, the name of Utpal Parrikar for his father’s seat Panaji is missing immediately making the tongues wagging for the opposition parties. The BJP has preferred to continue for the seat the Congress turncoat Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate who had won the seat after Parrikar’s death and later joined the BJP. Sacrificing its own principle, “one family one ticket,” the BJP also set up his Monserrate’s wife Jennifer, who is already a minister in the outgoing cabinet.

Another couple has also been given ticket by the BJP, Vishwajit Rane and his wife Divya Rane. Divya is the daughter in Law of the former Goa chief minister Pratapsinh Rane, a Congress stalwart in Goa who held the Poriem seat for the last 11 terms. Divya has been set up by the BJP for the Poriem seat and in case the Congress finally re-nominate 82-year old Pratapsinh Rane, a clash within the family might ensue.

Even after denial of ticket by the BJP, Utpal Parrikar is reportedly firm on contesting from Panaji and has refused the BJP’s offer of two other seats. “I will clear my stand soon,” he told reporters. The BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis said Utpal had been offered two other options. “We feel he should accept it. BJP has always given respect to the Parrikar Parivar,” Fadnavis said, hoping to stave off a revolt.

“Goans feel very sad that BJP has adopted use-and-throw policy even with the Parrikar family. I have always respected Manohar Parrikar ji. Utpal ji is welcome to join and fight elections on AAP ticket,” the Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. Last week, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut had appealed to opposition parties to support Utpal Parrikar if he fell out with the BJP and contested as an independent.

Manohar Parrikar, a three-time Goa Chief Minister and the BJP’s top leader in the seaside state, died in office in 2019. He held the Panaji constituency for 25 years. Babush Monserrate, who was his lifelong rival, has now been assigned his constituency over his son. In the byelection after Parrikar’s death, Babush Monserrate won as a Congress candidate but later switched to the BJP.

Utpal Parrikar, an engineering graduate, has been priming for a Panaji contest. He has been meeting people in the constituency and has also visited temples over the past few months, while declaring that he is ready to fight the polls. But in a clear hint that things would not go his way, Fadnavis had said no one should expect to be a candidate just because they are family.

“Manohar Parrikar did a lot of work to establish the BJP in Goa. But nobody gets a ticket in the BJP just because they are the son of Manohar Parrikar or some leader. If they have worked, they are considered,” Fadnavis had said. But the same principle was not applied in cases of Divya Rane and Jennifer Monserrate, party sources admitted.

Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh Samajwadi leader Akhilesh Yadav is likely to contest from the Karhal seat in Mainpuri district, which is seen as a Yadav family stronghold, party sources said Thursday evening. Mulayam Singh Yadav has won the Lok Sabha elections from Manipuri several times.

Karhal, one of the five Assembly constituencies of the Manipuri Lok Sabha seat, has voted for a Samajwadi Party candidate in every election since 1993, except for five years between 2002 and 2007, when the BJP flipped the seat. The seat is currently held by Sobaran Yadav. Yadav on Wednesday had refused to confirm buzz he could fight from his Lok Sabha seat of Azamgarh.

“I will seek the permission of the people of Azamgarh if I decide to contest the elections. I need to seek their permission because they elected me from there,” he said. Party sources, however, said he had decided – he was ready, and only the choice of seat remained.

Sources said the BJP’s move to field Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from his stronghold of Gorakhpur had ramped up pressure on Yadav and played a big role in his decision. Yadav greeted news of Adityanath’s Gorakhpur candidature with a cheeky swipe; “I like that the BJP has already sent him. Yogi should stay there… no need for him to come from there,” he said.