Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has increasingly been gaining national prominence and seen to be the loyal sidekick of Narendra Modi, brushed aside questions about denying a ticket to party stalwart Jaswant Singh.
“I am not a national leader. I cannot comment on it...” Parrikar said when asked about the tantrum Singh has thrown to contest as an Independent, a move that has been giving the ruling BJP stalwarts uncomfortable moments.Parrikar, who well before Gujarat chief minister staked his claim to be the party’s prime ministerial candidate, called l K Advani “rancid pickle” was the first senior BJP leader to speak in favour of Modi as the party’s national leader.
Former Defence Union Minister Jaswant Singh is the third-in- line of BJP’s stalwart leaders who have been at loggerheads with Modi over allocation of tickets.Denied an opportunity to contest on a party ticket from the Barmer lS seat in Rajasthan, Jaswant has filed his nomination as an Independent candidate.