Goa BJP leaders meet ahead of state unit reshuffle

Ahead of an impending reshuffle of the BJP's state executive and a possible change of its state president, party joint general secretary V. Satish met legislators and the party's senior state-level functionaries here on Monday.

While Satish, who conducted a series of one-to-one interviews with the state leadership, did not comment, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza told reporters at a city hotel that the interaction was a routine review of the party's affairs ahead of an expected reshuffle in the state executive.

"We may see some changes in state executive committee soon. So V. Satish is here to conduct a review of the party affairs. All of us are being interviewed individually and asked about our opinions and preferences," D'Souza said.

Party sources said that apart from discussing issues related to appointment of a new state president and new members to the BJP state executive committee, leaders were also asked about potential reasons which could have led to the party's lacklustre performance in the recently concluded zilla panchayat polls.

"Our national leadership is also keen on developing the road-map for the party ahead, in the absence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar," a senior party leader said on condition of anonymity.

Parrikar, one of the party's biggest and most popular leaders in the state, was elevated to the union cabinet in November last year.

While Parrikar has been replaced as chief minister by Mandrem legislagtor Laxmikant Parsekar, the party has been unable to project another leader with a mass appeal.