Going into election 2017 as chief minister from the BJP, Laxmikant Parsekar has an uphill climb to retain his Mandrem seat in Goa’s northern Pernem taluka in the face of the anti-incumbency wave hitting the party. 

This will be his fourth election from the segment that returned him consecutively in 2002, 2007 and 2012.

By his own admission, Mr Parsekar, who was chosen as a replacement when former chief minister and current Union minister Manohar Parrikar moved to the Centre in November 2014, took a while to grasp the ropes of his chief ministerial position. 

Despite his repeated assertions that he has now picked up the skills needed, party leaders have made it clear that the question of the chief ministership is still open-ended. 

The 60-year-old old former principal and chemistry postgraduate had been the party’s general secretary and president, holding the health ministry in the government before he was elevated to CM in 2014. 

For this Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh man, 2017 appears full of uncertainties.