PANAJI
The scheduled visit of Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national general secretary B L Santosh to Goa next week has once again reignited the buzz around a much speculated reshuffle of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s cabinet.
BJP State president, Damodar (Damu) Naik has confirmed that Santosh will be coming to review the party’s organisational work in the State next week.
Naik feigned ignorance of any proposal for changes in the government and sought to project Santosh’s visit as singularly directed at the party organisation building and restructuring.
“Various committees of the party organisation could be restructured in the future and he (Santosh) will give instructions and hold discussions with us on it,” Naik said.
Naik also said he was unaware if changes in the State cabinet will be part of the Central leader’s itinerary in Goa next week.
Nonetheless, across the country where the BJP has governments in States, the role of Santosh has been pivotal in decision making both in the party’s organisation as well as any changes made in governments and cabinets.
In Goa, the buzz around a cabinet reshuffle has been around since July last year when there were reports that the party’s central leadership has made up its mind to elevate Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar and a couple of the turncoats from the Congress yet to be compensated, including former chief minister, Digambar Kamat.
It did not happen and the talk of the cabinet reshuffle resurfaced again in December when both Sawant and the then State president and Rajya Sabha MP, Sadanand Tanavade hinted at the possibility of a cabinet rejig.
However, later he also clarified that there will be no change in the State cabinet for now. In such a situation, with B L Santosh coming to Goa next week, the cabinet reshuffle talks will gain momentum again.
So far, only one of the eight Congress defectors – Aleixo Sequeira – has found a place in the cabinet. He was sworn-in a minister in November last year after Nilesh Cabral quit making way.
Also, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo and Mormugao MLA, Sankalp Amonkar alongwith Kamat remain the only ones from the group of eight Congress defections who are yet to be accommodated with a government responsibility which is the basis of most media speculation around a cabinet reshuffle and it could once again crop up in the discussions Santosh holds with party functionaries and leaders during his visit next week.
