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Updated: Apr 23, 2020 22:56 IST

The ruling BJP in Goa that has been struggling to arrive at a consensus over Manohar Parrikar’s successor on Monday said it was close to reaching a decision on the next Goa chief minister. Parrikar, 63, died last evening at his Panaji house and will be accorded a state funeral with full military honours at 5 pm.

“The decision on chief ministerial candidate is yet to be taken but the picture will be clear by 2 pm,” Goa BJP chief Vijay Tendulkar announced shortly after his meeting with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. At this meeting, Tendulkar was accompanied by Pramod Sawant, the mild-mannered Goa Assembly Speaker who has the support of the majority of BJP lawmakers.

Tendulkar said the swearing-in would be held sometime after 3 pm.

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The BJP leader had earlier insisted that the party’s first priority was going to be giving Manohar Parrikar a fitting farewell. But as the Congress, which is the largest party in the assembly with 14 legislators, rushed to Raj Bhavan to stake claim, the BJP leader had cleared adjusted his stand.

WATCH: State funeral with full military honours for Manohar Parrikar

It is not clear if the BJP’s allies are on board.

Leadership has been a sensitive issue in the BJP-led coalition where Parrikar was the glue holding the BJP-led coalition together. Two of the BJP’s allies including Sudin Dhavalikar’s MGP had made their joining the alliance in 2017 conditional to Manohar Parrikar leading the government.

After Parrikar’s death, Sudin Dhavalikar had demanded that he should be upgraded as Chief Minister and had spoken about the many sacrifices that he had made for the BJP-led coalition government.

MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar told reporters that he could not confirm anything at this stage. “We will have a meeting of the executive committee of the MGP now to see how to go forward,” he said.

Also read | PM Modi to pay homage to Manohar Parrikar in Goa, state funeral with military honours at 5 pm

The Congress has already rushed its 14 lawmakers to Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the government at their meeting with Governor Mridula Sinha.

For now, Goa Assembly Speaker Pramod Sawant, 45, has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed Parrikar after BJP MLAs demanded that the next chief minister should be from among them and not from the alliance partners.

With the BJP senior leadership including then Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Minister Rajendra Arlekar losing the 2017 assembly polls, Speaker Pramod Sawant is the only remaining ‘full-blooded’ BJP leader in the Assembly.

The others, including those who were made ministers have only recently joined the BJP from the Congress prior to the 2017 elections which puts them out of contention.

Also Read | The indefatigable Manohar Parrikar: From IIT-grad to 4-time Goa chief minister

An ayurvedic doctor by training, Sawant was a leader of the BJP’s youth wing and retained his seat from the Sanquelim Assembly constituency in 2017. He had first entered the assembly in 2012. At 45, Sawant has the support from many within the BJP.

Another group of MLAs led by the Goa Forward and some BJP MLAs have pitched for Vishwajit Rane to be made Goa’s Chief Minister.

Legal experts underline that Goa Governor Mridula Sinha needs to ‘immediately’ call whoever she thinks can from the government and if there is no one, then she should recommend President’s rule.

“The Governor has to find out who can possibly form the new government. If the Governor feels that immediately no government is possible, she must recommend President’s rule and keep the assembly in suspended animation,” Cleofato Almeida Coutinho a lawyer and constitutional commentator said.

“This has to be done fast because the Governor cannot function without the local government. And with the death of the chief minister, there is no government in place. The ministers cannot continue in office. They are not even ministers because the government is not there. They are MLAs now,” he said.

Also read | Goa Congress MLAs meet governor, stake claim to form govt