Is Goa BJP leader Michael Lobo on his way out of the party?

A recent outburst by senior Goa BJP leader Michael Lobo has indicated that he could be on his way out of the party.

Lobo, a minister in the Pramod Sawant government, recently lashed out at the Goa BJP leadership saying that the party has become a commercial entity in the state and that it was no longer a party that former chief minister Manohar Parrikar had built.

Observers say that Lobo is inching closer to Congress and could quit the BJP soon.

He is unhappy in the saffron party because the BJP leadership is neither keen on giving an election ticket to his wife Delilah Lobo, nor are they willing to support her candidature as an independent. Delilah Lobo has started her campaign from Siolim constituency in Bardesh region in North Goa.

At the root of Lobo’s unhappiness is what he sees as double standards of the party leadership as they have allowed Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate and his wife Jennifer to be BJP candidates in the upcoming election.

The BJP is also likely to support Dr Divya, wife of health minister Vishwajeet Rane, from Poriem constituency as well as Savitri Kavlekar, wife of deputy chief minister Chandrakant Kavlekar.

Lobo feels that since wives of three senior legislators are likely to get party tickets or party support in case they contest as independents, then his wife Delilah also should have got similar treatment. But so far, there are no signs from the BJP leadership that it could back the candidature of Delilah Lobo.

BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis had tried his best to convince Lobo to fall in line and abide by party discipline. He took Lobo to Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah. But the meeting had no effect and Lobo remained firm on his wife’s candidature.

He also began threatening the state leadership that he has the power and influence to damage the party’s chances in Bardesh, which has six assembly seats. To counter Lobo, the BJP lured away independent legislator Rohan Khaunte from Porvorim and Jayesh Salgaonkar, both of whom were close to Lobo in Bardesh.

Lobo is the third legislator to launch an attack on the Goa BJP leadership. Earlier, Alina Saldanha and Carlos Almeida had both criticised the top brass, stating the party had moved away from Parrikar’s principles. Both Saldanha and Almeida subsequently resigned as legislators and joined the AAP and the Congress respectively.

What remains to be seen now is which way Lobo would go. All three opposition parties in Goa—Congress, TMC and AAP—had made offers to him and assured him that his wife Delilah, too, would be given a ticket in the 2022 state elections.