Ailing Parrikar guiding force for poll campaign: BJP

Ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will continue to be the guiding force behind the Goa BJP's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Assembly bypolls, party spokesperson Nilesh Cabral said on Thursday.

"We know that the Chief Minister is not well. And with his blessings and guidance, we are all working... Tomorrow what we will do, will be all under his guidance. Unfortunately, he is not active in the field, but he is actively guiding us in all directions. I think that is enough for us," Cabral told a press conference on Thursday.

Asked if the absence of Parrikar, perhaps for the first time in more than two decades, from active political campaigning, would impact the electoral chances of the BJP, Cabral said: "Yes, we would like him to come with us in the field. But unfortunately, he is not well and not able to come. But he is guiding us with every step we take."

Parrikar, the tallest state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Goa, was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in February 2018 and has been in and out of hospitals in Goa, Mumbai, Delhi and New York since.

The former Defence Minister, who rarely makes a public appearance, is currently being undergoing treatment at his private residence near Panaji.

--IANS

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