Parrikar to meet BJP MLAs in Goa, likely to take decision over next state chief

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will be meeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in Panaji today and is likely to take a decision over the next state chief.

According to reports, Assembly Speaker Rajendra Arlekar and health minister Laxmikant Parsekar are the frontrunners in the race.

Yesterday, Parrikar had indicated that he may join the Union Cabinet at the Centre, saying the BJP has asked him to take any assignment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers.

Parrikar, however, evaded direct questions on whether he would join the Union Cabinet in the days to come.

According to sources, 58-year-old Parrikar may be given the Defence portfolio.

The Goa Chief Minister had held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah in the national capitalon Wednesday, leading to speculations that he may be given a Cabinet berth.

Among others, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is expected to be allotted a Cabinet berth.

BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha's son Jayant too is in the race for the Cabinet berth, with reports suggesting that the Harvard MBA is being considered as a Minister of State (MoS) for Defence or Finance. Other key people who are expected to be promoted are MoS Nirmala Sitharaman and Haryana leader Birender Singh.