Goa BJP wants Parrikar in central ministry

Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP) Goa state unit wants Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in the union cabinet once the party is elected to power in the Lok Sabha polls. Speaking to reporters here, Health Minister Laxmikant Parsenkar said Parrikar, with his intellect and work experience, should be included in the union government if the BJP is elected. "He is an intellectual. He has a good grip on politics now. By virtue of his knowledge, experience and performance, he should be in the central cabinet," said Parsenkar, who has served twice as the state BJP president and is one of the senior state leaders.

"He (Parrikar) will be in demand," Parsenkar added. Parrikar, who is often viewed as Modi`s political aide de camp, is considered progressive and one of the more acceptable faces of the BJP. Known for his innovations in leadership, Parrikar was also appointed head of the BJP`s central good governance cell. The Goa Chief Minister, who is also being publicly projected as a possible prime ministerial candidate by his friends and well wishers here, hinted some time back that this could be his last stint in the state legislative assembly. This is Parrikar`s third stint as the state Chief Minister.