AERIAL VIEW
With anti-incumbency being a significant factor against BJP’s third straight bid for ruling the State, the saffron brigade banked on the MGP alliance to avoid dividing the Hindu votes.
Both BJP and MGP have similar ideologies and are basically looked upon as right-wing parties.
However, similar to what happened in Maharashtra wherein BJP ally Shiv Sena deserted them to form a government with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, MGP too has deserted the saffron party in Goa only due to the sheer arrogance of BJP leadership.
The MGP move is justifiable as the BJP has failed to keep the alliance dharma with the MGP and Vijai Sardesai led Goa Forward.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
In a significant political development, which could shape the next government in the State, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) has declared it would form a pre-poll alliance with the West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress.
The alliance has been announced by the MGP even when the BJP says it is in talks with the former ally.
The development must have indeed shocked the BJP leadership.
With anti-incumbency being a significant factor against BJP’s third straight bid for ruling the State, the saffron brigade banked on the MGP alliance to avoid dividing the Hindu votes.
Both BJP and MGP have similar ideologies and are basically looked upon as right-wing parties.
However, similar to what happened in Maharashtra wherein BJP ally Shiv Sena deserted them to form a government with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, MGP too has deserted the saffron party in Goa only due to the sheer arrogance of BJP leadership.
The MGP move is justifiable as the BJP has failed to keep the alliance dharma with the MGP and Vijai Sardesai led Goa Forward.
Not only did Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant sack senior leader and then Dy Chief Minister Sudin Dhavalikar from the Cabinet, but he also attempted to finish the MGP in Goa by creating a split in the MGP.
In one of the BJP’s late-night coups, the BJP made two MGP MLAs – – Babu Azgaonkar and Deepak Pauskar, a breakaway from the party and join BJP.
Similar was BJP’s attitude towards Goa Forward. BJP sacked the GF Ministers – Vijai Sardesai, Vinod Palyekar and Jayesh Salgaocar. The Chief Minister also sacked Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte after engineering a significant split in Congress.
So after sacking all the allies, the BJP now wants an alliance with each one of them.
Why would any political party or leader want to form an alliance with the party?
However, the newest alliance between TMC and MGP is that it has surely rattled the BJP.
Earlier, the TMC was adamant that the regional parties merge into it, but soon after, the Congress Goa Forward alliance changed the approach.
Had TMC and Prashant Kishore adopted a similar approach, even Goa Forward would have been a part of the alliance today.
Today all the political parties remain desperate for alliances to come back to power, be it Sudin Dhavalikar, Vijai Sardesai, Dr Pramod Sawant or Girish Chodankar.
In his lust for power, though, Sudin, like Luizinho Faleiro, has given TMC a foothold in Goa.
Lest Sudin forgets, we wish to remind him about the TMC’s brand of politics, which could wreak havoc in Goa. We have all seen what happened in West Bengal post-elections. People were literally massacred, offices burnt, workers beaten up, killed, mob violence. Do we want such kind of politics in Goa?
TMC alone cannot be blamed for the violence, but they were in the ruling when this happened, and it is their responsibility to clear the mess. Do we want such a mess in Goa?
It was being rumoured that TMC would come with 10k workers in Goa for political campaigning, but now, with videos going viral, we have seen train-loads of people coming for campaigning.
How will Goa handle such a large number of people from outside during peak tourist season? Will they be here in Goa just to know the names of voters you think, Mr Dhavalikar?
Goa is a peaceful State, and despite the rivalry, we see Pramod Sawant and Vijai Sardesai or Rohan Khaunte shaking hands and sharing jokes sometimes, unlike politics elsewhere in India, wherein politicians gun for each other’s head.
Let Goa remain peaceful as it is Mr Dhavalikar and Mr Luizinho.