Panaji: After the demise of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday, the BJP-led coalition in Goa began discussions to find a new leader to replace him.
However, Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, who arrived here in the early hours of the day, could not secure a consensus between the saffron party and its alliance partners in the state, party MLA Michael Lobo said.
Parrikar, 63, died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday at his private residence near here. Officially, it is said he was suffering from pancreatic ailment.
He was heading a coalition government comprising the BJP, the Goa Forward Party, the MGP and Independents.
A meeting was held here on Sunday which was attended by three MLAs of the Goa Forward Party, including its chief Vijai Sardesai and three MGP MLAs led by state Transport Minister Sudin Dhavalikar.
BJP state organisational general secretary Satish Dhond, Independent MLA and state Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte and state Art and Culture Minister Govind Gawade were also present.
Dhond left in the middle of the meeting and refused to answer media queries on the new leader for the coalition government.
While Gadkari was not available for comments, BJP MLA Lobo said the discussions came to a halt as Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) MLA Sudin Dhavalikar wanted to be the chief minister.
"Sudin Dhavalikar wants himself to be the CM, while the BJP wants that the leader of the alliance should be from their camp. We could not arrive at any decision," Lobo told reporters outside a hotel after a night-long meeting.
He said a solution to the crisis is expected to be found on Monday.
Lobo said BJP MLAs have suggested the names of Vishwajit Rane and Pramod Sawant for the post.
However, Vijai Sardesai said that the decision about the next leader would be taken after all the coalition partners meet. He said one of the suggestions was to make a non-MLA the next chief minister, which was also being considered.
When asked whether coalition partners will continue their support to the BJP, Sardesai said, "No one should be taken for granted."
Sardesai was accompanied by his MLAs, Jayesh Salgaonkar and Vinod Palyekar, and Independents Rohan Khaunte, Govind Gawade and Prasad Gaonkar.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, Dhavalikar said that Gadkari held one-on-one meetings with the MLAs and asked them certain questions.
"I can't disclose about the questions as they are confidential. We are expecting Gadkari to announce name of the CM candidate in the next one hour. The MGP will take proper resolution supporting the government after that," he said.
The MGP MLA added that Gadkari had heard each of the MLAs individually and would soon announce a new leader.
The death of Parrikar, who represented the Panaji assembly seat, will also necessitate a fourth by-poll in Goa, where by-elections are scheduled for the Shiroda, Mandrem and Mapusa assembly constituencies on April 23. These will held in the state along with the Lok Sabha polls.
"With chief minister Parrikar's demise, the ruling coalition will have to make a fresh representation to the governor after choosing their leader. The representation will have the letter of support," a senior official from State Legislature Department told PTI.
"If the governor (Mridula Sinha) is not convinced, then she will have to invite the single largest party to form government," he said.
Parrikar, who was a former defence minister, was sworn in as the Goa chief minister in 2017 after he won from Panaji in the same year.
In order to allow him entry into the Assembly, Panaji MLA Siddharth Kuncolienkar resigned on May 10, 2017, after which the by-poll was held.
The Congress is currently the single largest party in the state with 14 MLAs while the BJP has 12 in the 40-member Goa assembly. The Goa Forward Party, MGP and Independents have three MLAs each while NCP has one legislator.
The strength of the House has been reduced to 36 due to demise of BJP MLA Francis D'Souza earlier this year, and Parrikar on Sunday, and resignations of two Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte last year.
