Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Nov 14: Former Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar rejoined the BJP on Friday, four years after snapping ties with the party over being denied a ticket to contest the 2022 Assembly elections.

Parsekar said he had not joined any other political outfit after leaving the BJP and that he and his supporters had returned to strengthen the party.

“We have joined the party to work, and the party will give us responsibilities as per our capacity. We have to protect the interest of the party,” Parsekar said.

He joined the party along with his supporters in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, BJP state president Damodar Naik and other leaders.

Sawant said Parsekar had always felt distanced from the party and had been unable to work, but was now happy to return to the BJP. The chief minister also urged party workers to take a pledge to win 30 seats in the 2027 Assembly elections.

A year ago, Parsekar had expressed his willingness to rejoin the BJP, saying the decision on when the reunion would take place rested with the party.

A two-time former BJP state president, Parsekar had severed ties with the party in 2022 after being denied a ticket to contest from the Mandrem constituency.

In 2017, Parsekar, who was then the incumbent chief minister, lost the Assembly election by more than 7,000 votes to Congress candidate Dayanand Sopte. Sopte joined the BJP in 2018.

Parsekar's resignation in 2022 brought an end to his association with the BJP spanning more than three decades. An RSS member, he joined the BJP in 1988 and contested his first election in 1989, but lost his deposit.

Coming from a family of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) supporters, Parsekar had faced opposition from his family over his decision to contest on a BJP ticket. He had said he “left his own home” for almost 12 years after joining the BJP.

In 1994, Parsekar could not contest on a BJP ticket as the party had entered into an alliance with the MGP, with the Mandrem seat allotted to the regional party. He contested in 1999 and lost, but managed to save his deposit.

Parsekar won his first Assembly election in 2002 and went on to secure victories in 2007 and 2012.

In November 2014, he became chief minister after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted the then CM Manohar Parrikar into the Union Cabinet as Defence Minister. Parsekar thus became the second BJP chief minister of Goa after Parrikar. He remained in office until his defeat in the 2017 Assembly elections.

Over the years, Parsekar held several organisational positions in the BJP, including state president, general secretary and secretary. He first became the party's Goa unit president in 1999 and held the post again in 2010.