Breaking: Ex-MP Narendra Sawaikar is BJP South Goa candidate for Lok Sabha polls 2024

PANAJI: As senior BJP leaders like Ramesh Tawadkar and Digambar Kamat have made their position clear with regard to the party candidature for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in April-May, the BJP leadership in Delhi has zeroed in on former MP Narendra Sawaikar, whose name will be announced as the party candidate once the poll schedule is declared by the Election Commission. This was revealed by a highly-placed source in Delhi.

The party initially toyed with the idea of a Catholic candidate – maybe Nilesh Cabral or someone else and then considered Margao MLA (and former CM) Digambar Kamath who was the front runner for a week. However, Kamath said he was not too keen for personal as well as health reasons and sources close to the Margao strongman said he was not keen on a role in Delhi and would prefer either a Cabinet berth in the State Ministry or some other statutory designation.

Meanwhile, Sawaikar is popular among BJP karyakartas and due to his association with local farmers through the Goa Bagayatdar Society Limited as well as the NRI Commissioner.

Earlier BJP leaders including Damu Naik, Ramesh Tawadkar, Chandrakant Kavlekar and Digambar Kamat names were in the list along with Sawaikar and Cabral.

According to one media report quoting party sources, Damu Naik is being trained to be next BJP Goa State president after the tenure of the incumbent Sadanand Shet Tanawade gets over, in May this year. Tanawade is now a Rajya Sabha MP from North Goa.

While Kavlekar is not very popular among the rank and file of BJP karyakartas and lacks a mass base, the Quepem-based former Congress leader was projecting himself as a candidate for almost a year.

Kavlekar’s past controversies (he was accused of allegedly running Matka and gambling rackets by former Goa CM late Manohar Parrikar) and the delicate ‘caste equation’ in South Goa is another reason why his name did not figure in the Top 3 (final) list.