Panaji, Jan 27 (NIE): Goa is set for the formal launch of a new 5.1 km long, cable-stayed bridge over the Mandovi river on Sunday, with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari expected to cut the ribbon at 7 pm. Goa’s ailing Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar, is also expected to be at the launch.

Officials, however, have said that it will take a few more days for all four lanes of the bridge to be fully opened for traffic.

With two bypolls around the corner, and with internal bickering within the BJP and its allies becoming public, the naming of the bridge has now turned into a political spectacle.

There are many names being floated, including that of Deen Dayal Upadhyay. State BJP president Vinay Tendulkar has said he would “personally want the bridge to be named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee as he is a forever inspiration”.

The Congress has its own ideas. The party has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gadkari, and Parrikar, suggesting two names.

Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar says, “There are two bridges being built in Goa — the Mandovi bridge and one under construction over the Zuari. Goan politics is dominated by the legacy of our first chief minister, Dayanand Bandodkar, and then opposition leader, Jack Sequira. We want the bridges to be named after them.”

Both Bandodkar and Sequira are popular figures in Goa.

The BJP’s ally, the MGP, wants the bridge named after Bandodkar, the founder of their party, failing which they said they would be “not very pleased”. Meanwhile, NCP leader Churchill Alemao met Parrikar recently, asking him to name the bridge after Sequira as “he is a Goan leader and the father of the opinion poll”.

By Saturday evening, another name popped up — the Goa Tamil Sangam appealed to Gadkari to name the bridge after “former defence minister Manohar Parrikar”.

“Most of the people in Goa are deeply touched and remembered the good infrastructure and development work carried out by our Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar, the great visionary man,” read a representation by the group.