AERIAL VIEW
BJP has so far mastered, will play a crucial role. The Congress has put all its might in Goa and living no stone unturned to get back to power – an opportunity they missed in 2017 due to error of judgement.
The BJP, which is in the ruling was reduced to 13 in 2017 but still managed to snatch power from the jaws of defeat, would want to repeat the 2017 feat.
To seal the deal for power, the BJP and Congress both would require the support of MGP and the independents.
A setback to BJP and Dr Pramod Sawant as a Chief Minister is that Sudin Dhavalikar has already said that he would not support Sawant as the next CM. Similar is the sentiments of former leader Laxmikant Parsekar and Utpal Parrikar if they both get elected.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
Finally, the D-Day is here, the day every Goan has been waiting for when the new government will take shape, and the new Chief Minister will be announced by the principal parties – either Congress or the BJP.
The Exit Polls have indicated that the mandate would be fractured, and the fight is neck to neck between the two national parties.
However, it would be the test of nerves of getting the numbers; the bargaining and negotiating skills, which the BJP has so far mastered, will play a crucial role. The Congress has put all its might in Goa and living no stone unturned to get back to power – an opportunity they missed in 2017 due to error of judgement.
The BJP, which is in the ruling was reduced to 13 in 2017 but still managed to snatch power from the jaws of defeat, would want to repeat the 2017 feat.
To seal the deal for power, the BJP and Congress both would require the support of MGP and the independents.
A setback to BJP and Dr Pramod Sawant as a Chief Minister is that Sudin Dhavalikar has already said that he would not support Sawant as the next CM. Similar is the sentiments of former leader Laxmikant Parsekar and Utpal Parrikar if they both get elected.
Dhavalikar’s claim is justified given how Sawant was sacked in 2019 by Sawant and also poached on two of his MLAs – Babu Azgaonkar and Deepak Pauskar.
So the question now is who would be the next Chief Minister of Goa?
For Congress, it is straightforward – it will be either Digambar Kamat or Michael Lobo, and that’s it.
But for BJP, it is going to be a complex issue. Of Course, the MLA will have to abide by whatever the party high command decides, but then the problem isn’t simple considering the indications already given by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.
“If you don’t make me CM, I have my options open,” is what Vishwajit meant to say by his WhatsApp status.
If not Sawant, BJP will also not look at Vishwajit Rane given his antecedents, the COVID19 scam, his history of working against the party etc., but one has to also consider the fact that Vishwajit will have two seats – himself and wife Deviya besides he also enjoys good repo with Home Minister Amit Shah.
So, apart from Vishwajit, the option now remains to bring Union Minister Shripad Naik back or choose one between Nilesh Cabral, Mauvin Godinho or Rohan Khaunte.
However, the RSS is unlikely to approve a minority CM, and the two options that remain with BJP are Vishwajit or Rohan Khaunte.
However, in the case of BJP managing the numbers, Goa would want to see Rohan Khaunte instead of CM rather than Rane, who has been embroiled in controversies of mismanagement of COVID19 and the great recruitment scam.
Of Course, none of the parties, neither the BJP nor the Congress, can afford to make him the CM.
Amidst all this, Khaunte has been slowly emerging as the best option, and if he manages to get the support of Sudin Dhavlikar’s MGP, he can be the king.
So with Sudin’s condition for support, it is clear Goa will have a new CM, and there would be no more “bhivpachi garaz na”.