While the question of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forming the new government in Goa is beyond any shadow of doubt, there is considerable suspense over the Chief Minister’s post, especially given former Goa CM Pramod Sawant’s wafer-thin victory margin as opposed to his alleged rival Vishwajit Rane’s emphatic margin in the March 10 poll results.
On Saturday, Mr. Vishwajit Rane’s visit to Goa Governor P. S. Shreedharan Pillai at the Raj Bhavan set rumour mills buzzing overtime given the persistent speculation of him eyeing the Chief Minister’s post and his alleged rivalry within the BJP with Mr. Sawant.
Confirming the visit, the former Goa Health Minister and MLA-elect from Valpoi constituency clarified that his call on the Governor was “purely personal and not political”.
Mr. Vishwajit Rane, the son of stalwart Congressman Pratapsingh Rane, said that his visit was to invite the Governor to his constituency and take his blessings following the victory in the Assembly election.
Miffed at the media scrutinising his every move, he retorted on Twitter late on Saturday that “everything isn’t political”, while tagging a local media channel as well as a national English broadcast news channel.
‘Sad State of journalism’
“Sad state of journalism…where a personal visit to His Excellency Hon’ble Governor of Goa has been made [into] such a stir. It was solely a personal visit to invite him to my constituency and take his blessings following my victory in the Assembly election,” tweeted an irate Mr. Vishwajit Rane.
A former Congressman himself, the younger Rane, who has represented the Valpoi Assembly seat since 2007, switched sides to join the BJP after the 2017 Assembly election.
In the results declared on March 10, while Mr. Sawant, seeking a third-term from Sanquelim, could defeat his challenger — the Congress’ Dharmesh Saglani — by a margin of just 666 votes, Mr. Vishwajit Rane won by a massive margin of more than 8,000 votes from Valpoi — the veritable fiefdom of the Rane clan.
Prior to the polls, Mr. Vishwajit Rane had brusquely warned Mr. Pratapsingh Rane that he would defeat him if he contested Poriem at the behest of the Congress leadership.
However, after his win on March 10, an emotional Mr. Vishwajit Rane, choking back his tears, credited his octogenarian father for “teaching him everything about politics.”
His wife, Deviya Rane, a political neophyte who was given the BJP ticket from Poriem, clocked up the most impressive performance in the entire election by a candidate -winning the Poriem seat by a record margin of nearly 14,000 votes by defeating her husband’s namesake, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Vishwajit K. Rane.
Poriem was the bastion of Mr. Pratapsingh Rane, an 11-time MLA and the State’s longest serving CM, who had declined to contest this time, making way instead for his daughter-in-law Dr. Deviya Rane.
The Ranes’ together polled a combined victory margin (in their respective constituencies of Valpoi and Poriem) of nearly 23,000 votes — which is the average size of a constituency in Goa.
Impressive performance
Since then, rumours have been swirling that the party brass can no longer ignore Mr. Vishwajit Rane’s impressive performance and his not-so-secret chief ministerial ambitions.
Mr. Vishwajit Rane and Mr. Sawant represent constituencies (Valpoi and Sanquelim) that share a common border.
Prior to the polls, the two leaders had frequently clashed over a number of issues at Cabinet meetings — a clash threatened to split the party on the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Governor on Saturday had dissolved the Goa Legislative Assembly with Mr. Sawant tendering his resignation as the CM.
With the BJP firmly ensconced in the driver’s seat after decisively winning 20 of the 40 Assembly seats and gaining support from three independent candidates as well as the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, the party is in no hurry to form the government and has said it would stake claim only after following due party procedure.
After chairing his last Cabinet meeting on Friday, Mr. Sawant had said there was no information as yet on a central observer being appointed for Goa, following which there would be the legislature party meeting, only after which the BJP leaders approach the Governor to stake claim on forming the government.
After chairing his last Cabinet meeting on Friday, Mr. Sawant had said there was no information as yet on a central observer being appointed for Goa, following which there would be the legislature party meeting, only after which the BJP leaders approach the Governor to stake claim on forming the government.
