Parrikar expects berth for Goa MP Naik in Modi ministry

Goa BJP expects a ministerial berth for Sripad Naik, who won for the fourth time from North Goa constituency today, in the next government to be led by Narendra Modi.
"It is the prerogative of the Prime Minister to decide who should be in his cabinet. But we expect that Sripad Naik would be given a ministerial berth," Goa Chief Minister and BJP leader Manohar Parrikar here said.
"There will be no need to ask for a berth," he claimed, saying that Modi was pro-Goa and "everytime Goa has been lucky for him".
"Modi's selection as (BJP's) campaign in-charge for Lok Sabha polls took place during the National Executive in Goa," Parrikar pointed out.

Naik was a Minister of State for Civil Aviation in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.
Parrikar also said that with Modi set to come to power in the Centre, the strained relations between the state and the Centre would "improve".

"For the last two years, we had to fight with the Central government for our reasonable demands," the chief minister said.
"Now definitely we can ask more for Goa," he added.
Parrikar said that the new NDA government should be given at least 100 days to settle down before the coastal state puts forth its demands such as the special status and package for those affected by the ban on mining in Goa, and takes up issues related to various notifications of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

BJP today won both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa. Naik, the sitting MP, won in North Goa defeating Ravi Naik of Congress, while Narendra Sawaikar defeated Congress's Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco in South Goa.