Caretaker Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and former Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s visit to Delhi on Saturday evening for a meeting with the BJP’s central leadership has given rise to speculation about a tussle between the two for the top job. While some party leaders indicated that Sawant was likely to get another term as chief minister, a section of party functionaries pointed out Rane played a significant role in the BJP improving its electoral tally in a state where fractured verdicts have often led to spells of political uncertainty. According to sources, Rane may seek a bigger role in the government as he backed his wife Deviya’s successful debut poll campaign to wrest control of the Congress bastion of Poriem. The senior MLA’s father Pratap Singh Rane, a former chief minister himself, had been the legislator from Poriem, which was in Congress control for 45 years. But he did not contest this election, and Deviya won it for the BJP by 13,943 votes — the highest margin in the state’s 40 Assembly constituencies. 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ Sawant, who returned to Goa on Sunday afternoon, said, “Our central observers will come to Goa tomorrow and by tomorrow evening, everything will be decided.” The swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held on March 23. Though the saffron party’s top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, had endorsed Sawant during the election campaign last month, BJP insiders admitted that the poll result led to Rane’s emergence as another power centre in the state. Sawant, who has a background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, is considered to be close to BJP general secretary (Organisation) B L Santosh and state general secretary (Organisation) Satish Dhond, who is known in Goa as the power behind the CM’s chair. But another section in the party believes Rane can be a more formidable chief minister who can garner support from across communities. A senior BJP leader, however, has said that Rane has not made a move for the top post. Rane, the former state health minister, has also dismissed talk of him becoming the chief minister, telling reporters recently not to ask him “faaltu (useless) questions”. Though his March 12 visit to the Raj Bhavan to meet Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai created a flutter, he was quick to clarify that “it was a personal visit” to invite the governor to his constituency and “seek his blessings”. But, when Deviya was recently asked if her husband was “ready” to be the chief minister, she said, “Of course, any MLA can be ready for the post and he (Vishwajit) is a very experienced politician for the last 15 years..the party will decide, the central leaders will decide, and whatever they decide will be the final decision.” The reported differences between Sawant and Rane came to the fore amid an acute oxygen shortage at Goa Medical College and Hospital during the second Covid-19 wave last year. The BJP’s central leadership intervened at the time to broker a truce. In the following months, the two went out of their way to paint a picture of conviviality and show that all was well between them. In comparison to Sawant who managed to win from Sanquelim by only 666 votes, having trailed his Congress rival in the initial rounds, Rane bagged Valpoi by 8,085 votes. But party leaders said there was little to discredit Sawant as the party won 20 seats under his leadership despite not having any pre-poll alliance. In 2017, the BJP had won 13 seats under the leadership of former defence minister and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. But despite his strident denials when questioned about his aspirations, Rane’s career illustrates his political ambition. Sources said the BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis was among his allies. After the Congress failed to form the government in 2017 despite emerging as the single-largest party with 17 seats, he became the first MLA to leave the party. Months later, he contested the by-poll from Valpoi on a BJP ticket and returned to the House. The five-time MLA was also said to be instrumental in getting two more legislators to resign from the Congress and join the saffron party in 2018.
