Accusations against Dhond…
Denial of ticket to former CM Laxmikant Parsekar
Denial of ticket to Utpal Parrikar
Denial of ticket to Delilah Lobo, Deepak Pauskar, Savitri Kavlekar
Interference in government administration
Running RSS agenda in Goa
THE ART – BJP wins 20 seats…..
THE ARTIST – SATISH DHOND……
Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Sitting in a small cabin in the corner of the BJP press room at Panaji headquarters, a white kurta-clad man makes the big decisions for the party and, more often than not, his decisions are a success, which has bolstered the BJP in Goa. Seldomly speaks to anyone unknown, but his voice is quite loud to be heard where it is intended to.
To the dismay of all Opposition parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party on March 10 swept the Goa Assembly polls gaining a near-majority with 20 seats.
While everyone in the State felt that the BJP would be decimated to get less than 10 seats in Goa, there was one man who had some other ideas. The man, who has been criticized several times from those who were denied tickets to those whose wives were also ignored, all felt that Mr Satish Dhond, the Organising Secretary or Sanghatan Mantri of BJP Goa, has proved everyone wrong.
Accusations….
A day after the ticket was denied, former Chief Minister of Goa Laxmikant Parsekar told Goemkarponn, “I do not want to name anyone, but there is a big hindrance in the party. There is a big “Dhond” (waste/ dirt?”
Parsekar had said, “the Dhond” has to concentrate on organization, but his 50 per cent concentration is on keeping Laxmikant Parsekar away. Secondly, 49 per cent is on Bicholim, and the remaining 1 p.c is on Goa. He has done nothing for the party.”
“I feel sad about where the party is heading. Central leaders will come to know about this after the 2022 elections. The party has to rectify such issues immediately.”
A few days later, another BJP leader Michael Lobo, who quit BJP to join Congress, said, “One leader in white Kurta wants to finish the party. We must not allow the party to be destroyed because of the ego of these persons. The party high command should take immediate action against them or remove.”
While he mentioned the names, he dropped enough hints to identify one of the leaders as BJP organizing secretary, Satish Dhond.
“Such people were sent out of Goa at one point in time. They are sitting on a high horse and do not know where they are heading. I think the high command should take action,” he said.
After some differences cropped up between him and some party leaders, Satish Dhond was transferred out of Goa just before the 2017 assembly elections.
Soon after the interviews, when this writer spoke to Mr Dhond about the mention of “White Kurta man” & “Dhond in the party” he smiled and replied in a counter-question, ” Kon re toh? (who’s that guy)?” and moved away.
However, the two leaders were proved wrong; Dhond guided BJP to a historical win in Goa.
BJP’s Mastermind in Goa…
Of Course, Dhond is a behind-the-scenes man. Many do not like his strong words and firm decision in the party itself, but he does what he has to do despite this.
Many still believe that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavde, BJP general secretary in-charge of Goa, C. T. Ravi and Maharashtra Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis played a key role in scripting BJP’s win, it may have been true partially, but the major credit of the victory has to go to this man Satish Dhond, who kept his flock together despite rebellions.
In the absence of the late Manohar Parrikar, Dhond took the responsibility on his shoulders of changing the image of BJP from a pro-Brahmin party to a Bahujan party. He successfully garnered support from Bhandari Samaj, Maratha, Scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, and so also many minority voters, especially in Navelim.
“BJP winning 20 seats in the Goa Assembly is an astounding feat and while many only look at the division of votes of the Congress by Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the fact is that the shift in vote base from GSB to more of Maratha, Bhandary and Bahujan Samaj has been significant and helped us when we lost our most powerful leader Manohar Parikkar,” said a senior Goa BJP office-bearer.
Mr Dhond occupies a small office in the BJP Goa headquarters, right next to where the press room is, his family has a horticultural farm Pirna village in Bichaulim, and he lives very simply.
Dhond was one of the key persons in Goa, along with Manohar Parrikar, Laxmikant Parsekar, and Shripad Naik, responsible for the rise of the BJP in Goa. Though he and Mr Parikkar were considered very close, sometime during the latter’s 2012 tenure, the two fell out, and the RSS deputed him to Thane and Konkan for organizational work.
When Mr. Parrikar was taking treatment for cancer in the US, Mr. Dhond was recalled to bolster the organization in the face of such a loss. He recognized quickly enough that BJP needed a broad base and fast. Thus, Mr Sawant, a Maratha, was chosen as chief minister, Sadanand Shet Tanavde was made party chief.
Nobody would have even thought BJP, facing solid anti-incumbency, would get 20 seats Satish Dhond did, and many in the party call him magician for that.