BJP leadership looking at Goa leadership issue: GFP leader after meeting Shah

The BJP's central brass is "seriously looking at" the leadership issue in Goa to provide a stable government to people, state minister Vijai Sardesai claimed Thursday after meeting party chief Amit Shah in Delhi.

Sardesai, whose Goa Forward Party (GFP) is a key constituent of the BJP-led coalition government, met BJP chief Amit Shah this afternoon to discuss the current political situation in the coastal state against the backdrop of the ill-health of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

"I explained to him (Shah) the aspirations of Goans in the current political scenario. The BJP's central leadership is seriously looking at the leadership issue and to give Goa a stable government. We discussed the political scenario including the aspirations of the Goan people," the town and country planning minister told PTI over the phone from Delhi.

Shah had invited leaders of the key constituents of the Manohar Parrikar-led government to Delhi to meet him on Wednesday, but the meeting was rescheduled to Thursday.

Shah will meet Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader and state minister Sudin Dhavalikar later in the day.

The CM is away from office for long due to ill health, triggering speculation over the stability of his coalition government.

The opposition Congress had claimed the government was in disarray and has become rudderless. The party had also demanded a floor test in the state Legislative Assembly.

Shah has already ruled out change of guard in Goa.

Parrikar, 62, had gone to the US for treatment of pancreatic ailment earlier this year.

He was admitted to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on September 15. He was shifted to Goa on October 14 and is currently recuperating at his private residence.

In the 40-member Goa Assembly, the Parrikar government enjoys the support of 23 MLAs, including 14 of the Bhartiya Janata Party, three each from the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP), and three Independent legislators.

In a setback to the Congress in Goa on Tuesday, two of its 16 MLAs-- Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar --resigned as members of the House Tuesday and joined the BJP.