PANAJI: Former Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar has thrown his hat in the ring for the assembly elections scheduled early next year and exuded confidence that BJP wouldn’t deny him a ticket.
“I have informed party national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh that I wish to contest the next assembly .
There is no question of BJP denying me the ticket to contest from Mandrem,” Parsekar told TOI on Tuesday.
Parsekar, the then chief minister, had lost the last assembly election by over 7,000 votes to Dayanand Sopte of Congress, who later joined BJP in 2018 and is the sitting MLA from Mandrem.
Parsekar is the second senior state BJP functionary after former state president and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar to have expressed his desire to contest the assembly elections.
Tendulkar had recently told TOI that he was even willing to resign his Rajya Sabha seat if assured a ticket.
Parsekar said he wants to contest to complete the projects taken up during his tenure like electronic city, water treatment plant, Mopa airport, etc.
“Over the past four-and-a-half years, not a single project has been completed in Mandrem constituency.
“I am active in my constituency and my social work continues even after I lost the assembly election.
I can challenge all 40 MLAs, including Sopte, to compare their social work with mine,” Parsekar said, adding that even when he was an MLA, minister and chief minister, he continued his social work.
Parsekar, an RSS member, joined BJP in 1988 and contested his first election in 1989, but lost his deposit.
Hailing from a family of strong MGP supporters, Parsekar had had a confrontation with his family to contest his first election on a BJP ticket.
In 1994, Parsekar could not contest the assembly election after BJP forged an alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Mandrem seat was allotted to MGP.
In 1999, Parsekar again lost, but this time, he was able to secure his deposit.
The first election he won was in 2002, followed by victories in the 2007 and 2012 elections.
In November 2014, he became the chief minister after Manohar Parrikar moved to Delhi as the Union defence minister—only the second partyman to hold that post after Parrikar.
Parsekar continued as the chief minister till 2017.
“I have won thrice when it was a triangular or four-corner fight, but I lost in 2017 when it was a one-on-one fight,” he said.
The former chief minister said the party gives tickets to winning candidates, and since he has witnessed the growth of the party, it cannot deny him a ticket.
“After I lost in 2017, the electorate realised what a mistake they have made,” he said.
Earlier, Parsekar had occupied various positions in the party, including state president, general secretary and secretary.
Parsekar first became BJP state president in 1999 and then again in 2010.
In 2012, under his presidency, BJP for the first time got a simple majority in the assembly by winning 21 of the 40 seats.