Tendulkar-Parsekar at loggerhead, blames each other for defeat in 2017 poll

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Panaji/Mandrem: BJP’s Goa Chief Vinay Tendulkar and former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday opened the old wounds when they blamed each other for defeat in 2017 Goa Legislative Assembly election.
BJP which had won on 21 seats in 2012 Assembly Election under the leadership of senior party leader Manohar Parrikar, was reduced to 13 with Parsekar, who was then CM, losing in his constituency of Mandrem in North Goa.
With BJP inducting Dayanand Sopte, the Congress MLA who had defeated Parsekar, the latter has been vociferous against the party’s Goa Unit president Tendulkar.
“It was under the leadership of Tendulkar that BJP was reduced from 21 seats to 13 but still I owned the responsibility of the defeat. I went public to accept the defeat,” Parsekar told reporters on Wednesday.
He said that Tendulkar who was actually should have been held responsible, began accusing then ministers in the state cabinet for the defeat.
“The party organization should have owned the responsibility which Tendulkar never did,” the former chief minister said.
Responding to the claim, Tendulkar said that Parsekar should be solely held responsible for reduction in party’s seats during 2017 polls.
“For the first time in the history, chief minister of the State was defeated. He lost from Mandrem constituency with a huge margin. That is enough to prove that he was responsible for BJP’s poor show,” Tendulkar said.
He said that Parsekar has lost support in his own constituency of Mandrem, which will be going for byelection on April 23 along with Lok Sabha seats of Goa.
Tendulkar also said that Parsekar was responsible for breaking BJP’s alliance with MGP on the eve of 2017 Assembly election.
He said that Parsekar during his tenure as CM had sacked two MGP ministers – Sudin Dhavalikar and Dipak Dhavalikar.

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