Most of the major developments which took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political career graph have a Goa connection, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.

Parikar on Tuesday said the coastal state was lucky for the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as Modi.

“The announcement to make Modi the PM was also made in Goa. I remember it was in this very hall. We were sitting here when Home Minister Rajnath Singh made the announcement and everyone accepted it with tremendous enthusiasm,” Parrikar said.

Parrikar, a Former Goa Chief Minister, made the statement during the celebration of Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s 60th birthday at Taleigao Community Centre hall at the outskirts of Panaji.

“I think the first announcement of Modi’s chief ministerial candidature was in Goa. It was a positive decision. I am talking about the Gujarat election. Ahead of the 1999 election, the national executive was held in Goa and the BJP won the election. The same thing happened in 2002 and we won the Gujarat election,” Parrikar said.

“In a way Goa is lucky for the BJP. It’s vote share has risen from 0.4 per cent to 40 per cent and then to 65 per cent voting in the last Lok Sabha election,” Parrikar said.