During the Goa Assembly elections 2022, Utpal Parrikar went against the BJP and contested elections as an Independent candidate against Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate, as he wasnt given the ticket from the Panjim constituency. The same BJP where his father Manohar Parrikar represented the Goa state as a Chief Minister and was also the Defence Minister of India.
Now, its the Lok Sabha elections and our Founder Editor Vishal Rajemahadik spoke to him about his approach and plans.
How would you approach this Loksabha elections considering your revolt during the assembly elections wherein you contested as independent!
I have been always clear even during the assembly elections and more so now that ideologically and intellectually I have always been at the same position where I was earlier. This election is going to be a key election to solidify the progress the country has made in last decade under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi.
World was thrown into a chaos during the pandemic, and now it is clear that it was due to some dangerous experiment in a Chinese lab, and continues to become dangerous place with impending war in middle east and the Europeans hell bent on escalating the Ukrain-Russia conflict bringing us to brink of yet another world war. In such circumstance we need continuation of the strong leadership shown by prime minister to steer India on a path to become what we from the ideology call “India as Vishwaguru”.
During campaigns we are expected to bury the differences and work as a team! So would you campaign alongside Babush!
Currently, I am not in BJP and I cannot vouch for others about how they will campaign. But I am clear on the goal that we need the strong leadership of PM Modi to shepherd the country towards progress in this difficult times, and I will contribute in any small ways I can.
Considering your votes tally of the assembly elections, you would be a major force on ground during the campaigns! How much would this help the BJP candidates?
One thing I learnt during elections is that, there is yearning from the voters for good governance and good candidates. And good candidates can have so called “Winnability” factor. I might have lost the election by very slender margin, but I was able to prove that actual winnability was with me. We have made it popular to think vote banks nurtured on money and muscle power win elections, however there is a large section of voters who are drawn to you because of your ideas.
Even my father attracted these people to him and they were his one of the largest group of supporters. I was able to do the same during the elections. I am confident they will vote for the BJP candidates based on amount of good work done during last 10 years under leadership of the prime minister and also the future vision the country will head towards. The opposition has only given regressive ideas of the past as their vision for the country. So I believe the large group of voters I attracted during the elections will make their decision based on this and will want to bring back the current dispensation at the center.
What are the factors you feel will help BJP win both the Loksabha seats!
One thing we often fail to grasp is the collective wisdom the people of this country have.
They understand what is required for the country much better than any analysts sitting in Lutyen’s Delhi. People are able to differentiate and vote accordingly based on the need and type of election. Being a national election, I believe people will vote based on issues of national significance. They have seen that many of the promises made in the manifesto by BJP were delivered in last 10 years. Also, the all-around development, especially in infrastructure is tangible and can be clearly seen even in Goa. They understand that this development is driving the growth in the country and can usher in better opportunities for their children. Country has become aspirational and has moved away from politics of left which has kept the country poor for so many decades. So I feel people from both constituencies will vote positively to bring back the current government at the center.
Till the time you won’t get party ticket from the BJP, should we consider you to be the independent candidate from Panaji!
I dont consider all decisions are to be taken only keeping elections in mind. My current goal in Panaji is to continue to develop contact with more and more people and raise issues related to it. I have been vocal in the past 2 years regarding issues faced by people, especially by residents and small businesses due to on-going Smart City work, which unfortunately the local elected representative and his mayor son has failed.
Leave a Reply