Shah to meet allies in Goa to decide on next chief minister

BJP president Amit Shah will meet alliance partners in the Goa government Monday evening to decide the next coastal state's chief minister amid stalemate over the issue, a party leader said.

The BJP has not been able to convince its alliance partners the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Independents on naming the successor of Manohar Parrikar, who died Sunday, the leader said.

"Shah will meet alliance partners - the GFP, MGP and independents - and try to convince them to arrive at a consensus on the candidate for the chief ministerial post," the BJP functionary said.

The meeting is scheduled at a star hotel at Dona Paula near here.

Shah is in Goa to pay tributes to Parrikar, who was holding the top post since March 2017.

The BJP chief also attended the funeral of the late leader at the Miramar beach here.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, who is in Goa since Sunday, has also been holding parleys with the party's alliance partners to select Goa's new chief minister through consensus.