Major political surgery at AIIMS today

LIKELY DECISIONS

1)
Parrikar shedding some of the politically and administratively important portfolios
2)
Parrikar also expected to thrash out the clash between Dhavlikar and Sardesai
3)
Plan of succession will also be discussed and a consensus hammered out
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WHO HAVE BEEN
SUMMONED

>> PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar and TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai
(The leaders of the two alliance partners - MGP and GFP)
>> Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gaude
(Two Independents in the cabinet
>> Vishwajit Rane and Mauvin Godinho
(The two BJP ministers)
>> Some key bureaucrats from the Goa administration will also be present
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PANAJI: A political surgery will be attempted on the Goa government on Friday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi where Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is slated to meet with key members of his cabinet and also the core committee of his Bharaitya Janata Party.
Among the ministers who are scheduled to attend the crucial Friday meeting with Parrikar at AIIMS are PWD Minister Sudin Dhavlikar and TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai, the leaders of the two alliance partners - Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward Party.
Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gaude, the two Independents in the cabinet, and the two BJP ministers - Vishwajit Rane and Mauvin Godinho - are the other cabinet members summoned to the crucial deliberations by Parrikar, a top BJP source said.
Some of the decisions expected to be taken at the meeting include Parrikar shedding some of the politically and administratively important portfolios he currently holds and distribute them to the other ministers.
Crucial among these are the Finance, Home and General Administration Department which have suffered from Parrikar's long absence from office and said to be the primary reason behind the slowing of the wheels of governance.
On the political front, Parrikar is also expected to thrash out the clash between Dhavlikar and
Sardesai who have been engaged in a perceptible tug-of-war of sorts in efforts to corner for themselves a larger role both in government and Goa's political chessboard as well.
With three of the most powerful BJP leaders apart from Parrikar - Ayush Minister Shripad Naik, State president Vinay Tendulkar and State treasurer Sanjiv Desai - slated to also be present, a plan of succession will also be discussed and a consensus hammered out at the meeting, the top BJP source said. Although it is not a formal 'cabinet meeting' some key bureaucrats from the Goa administration will also be present and party to the deliberations to resolve the serious functional hurdles faced in day-to-day governance during Parrikar's absence from Goa, the source said.
Meanwhile, officials from the Chief Minister's Office were busy the whole of Thursday communicating with the invited ministers and bureaucrats to ensure their presence and attendance at the meeting.
For months now, the Parrikar-led coalition government has been struggling to beat the functional crisis plaguing it ever since the Chief Minister was forced into hospitals in the United States, Mumbai, Goa and now Delhi after he was first diagnosed in Febraury with a serious pancreatic ailment.
The consequent political backlash had forced BJP president Amit Shah to embark on a leadership change mission in Goa through a team of Central emissaries. However, sharp differences among the coalition partners and also within the party over the choice of a successor to Parrikar forced the leadership to temporarily abort the plan in September.
Both Naik and Tendulkar were the options that the party's Central Leadership was toying with as replacements for Parrikar but a consensus in the coalition proved elusive.
The Opposition Congress, meanwhile, kept exerting pressure by consistently baiting the coalition leaders with targeted criticism and also indulging in some power-play tactics such as knocking the Governor's doors for dismissal of the government and staking its own claim for power.
The Congress' bids for power may be lacking the punch needed to actually seize power but BJP leaders and cadres recognize that the prolonged policy and functional paralysis in the government is seriously affecting its political image and are heavily banking on the success of the Friday meeting at AIIMS, to turn the political tide in Goa.