Utpal Parrikar, the son of three-time Goa Chief Minister and former Union Minister Manohar Parrikar, parted company with the BJP today after the party refused to offer him ticket for the Panaji seat in the coming assembly elections in the seaside state. Announcing that he would contest as an Independent candidate, Utpal Parrikar said the time has come for him to “take some stand for my values… and let the people of Panaji decide my political fate”.
Manohar Parrikar, the BJP’s tallest leader in Goa, had held the Panaji constituency for 25 years before his death in 2019. But the party’s choice was controversial MLA Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate, the lifelong rival of Manohar Parrikar, over his son
