BJP will win Goa polls by historic majority, says Fadnavis; plays down threat of rebellion

The BJP was heading towards the elections as a united force, he said

Former Maharashtra chief minister and in-charge of Goa for the 2022 state assembly polls Devendra Fadnavis, on Monday, played down the threat of rebellion in the party's rank and file, expressing confidence that the ruling party would win a historic majority in the upcoming state assembly elections.

Fadnavis also urged the media not to raise questions about the commitment of the members of former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar's family, especially his elder son Utpal, towards the BJP.

When asked about the numerous anti-party comments made by BJP workers over the choice of party candidates for the upcoming polls, Fadnavis claimed that the ground reality was in fact something else, and that the BJP was heading towards the elections as a united force.

"The BJP is a united face. The CM, the Ministers and party office bearers will work together and we will get a historic majority. People can see how much help you get from the Centre when there is the same government," Fadnavis told reporters at a press conference in Panaji, his first since he was appointed as the party's in-charge for the Goa polls.

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When asked about the BJP's penchant for poaching MLAs from other parties, especially the Congress in Goa, to form governments, Fadnavis said that the party will register a "historic majority" in the 2022 polls, which would do away with the necessity of poaching MLAs from opposition parties in the near future.

"We will not face this situation in 2022. We are coming with a full majority in 2022. We are not complacent. Each election is a challenge. We will overcome all the challenges and I am confident," the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra state legislative assembly said.

When asked about the absence of former Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal's absence from the party's election campaign, Fadnavis said: "First of all, campaigning has not started. You can ask this question after campaigning begins. He (Utpal) will meet me. We have met in the past. There is no anger. At least do not raise questions about Parrikar's household. This is my request".

Utpal Parrikar has been critical of the administration as well as the decisions taken both by the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant-led government and the BJP state unit. Soon after the death of his father in office, Utpal had also said that the BJP in Goa had deviated from the path of his late father, who was one of the tallest BJP leaders in the state.

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