PANAJI: Union minister of state for tourism Shripad Naik on Thursday said while he would not stake claim to return to state politics, he would be ready to work in Goa if BJP gives him responsibilities.
“If the party thinks my services are required in Delhi, I will accept it, and if it thinks my services are needed in Goa, I will accept that too. But I will never stake claim,” he said.
“It is our culture to work according to the party’s instructions. I don’t have any personal claim (to contest next assembly elections), but I will abide by the party’s decision,” Naik said. tnn
Earlier, former Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar had thrown his hat in the ring for the assembly elections scheduled early next year and exuded confidence that BJP wouldn’t deny him a ticket. Goa’s lone BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Vinay Tendulkar, had also said that he wanted to contest the next assembly elections and had even offered to resign as a member of Parliament to do so.
Both Tendulkar and Parsekar have put their claims before the party over contesting the next assembly elections.
Recently, ports minister Michael Lobo had said his wife Delilah, who is sarpanch of the Parra panchayat, would stake a claim for a BJP ticket either from Saligao or Siolim.
With several BJP MLAs lobbying for party tickets for their kin to contest the upcoming assembly polls, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade had said, “BJP does not have a tradition to give tickets to four or five persons in a family.”
