With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) firmly ensconced in the driver’s seat in Goa after securing 20 of the 40 Assembly seats and gaining support from three independent candidates, a section of newly-elected MLAs is reportedly unhappy over the party top brass’ offer to the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to join the soon-to-be formed government.
According to informed sources, following the party meeting at a Panaji hotel on Thursday soon after the results, some BJP legislators strongly opposed the induction of the two MGP MLAs — Sudin Dhavalikar, who won the Marcaim seat for the sixth time and Jit Arolkar, who won from Mandrem — in the new government.
Touted by the exit polls as a possible ‘kingmaker’ with a projected tally of winning five seats, Mr. Dhavalikar, who had contested the polls in alliance with the Trinamool Congress, had said ahead of counting day (on March 10) that the MGP’s objective was now to be the ‘king’.
Hopes crushed
However, he saw his hopes crushed by noon, with the BJP’s tally of 20 seats rendering the MGP superfluous, neither in the position to play ‘kingmaker’ nor be the ‘king’ while staring in the face of an existential crisis.
After stressing he would stick by his ally, the Trinamool, and never again join with the BJP led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Mr. Dhavalikar did an abrupt volte face by Thursday evening after the MGP pledged unconditional support to the BJP.
Following the results, Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s Goa election in-charge, had said the party would like to take the MGP along and said he had already received letters of support from their candidates.
“I have extended unconditional support to the BJP on assurance that they will not break any political party. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, J.P. Nadda and Mr. Fadnavis have spoken to me,” said Mr. Dhavalikar, who won his stronghold Marcaim by a massive margin of over 10,000 votes.
Goa’s oldest regional party, the MGP has had a rocky relationship with the ideologically similar BJP, not unlike the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP partnership in Maharashtra.
While the right-wing MGP had once helped the BJP grow in Goa, its attrition in the coastal State has been dramatic after 1999, climaxing with the BJP under Pramod Sawant poaching two of the MGP’s three MLAs in 2019 while unceremoniously sacking Mr. Dhavalikar from the Deputy Chief Minister post.
Meanwhile, the BJP appeared to be in no hurry to stake claim to form the new government.
After the last meeting of the incumbent Goa Cabinet on Friday, Mr. Sawant said the Cabinet had decided to recommend to the Governor to dissolve the Assembly on March 14. The tenure of the current Assembly expires on March 15.
When questioned as to when the new government would be formed, Mr. Sawant, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said there was no information as yet on a Central observer being appointed for Goa, following which there would be the legislature party meeting, only after which would the BJP leaders approach the Governor to stake claim to form the government.
