Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The RGP leadership dispute took a fresh turn at the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) all-party meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with the attendance register emerging as the latest flashpoint.
Shavina Naik Shirodkar, president of the Viresh Borkar-led RGP faction, questioned the handling of the attendance process and called for equal treatment of both competing groups. She urged the CEO to provide a fair opportunity to both sides if there was any confusion over the party’s leadership and authorised representation.
Meanwhile, Ajay Kholkar was permitted to sign the attendance register. Speaking to the media, he maintained that there is only one registered RGP party and clarified that he had signed the register only in his capacity as a party member.
Kholkar also said that RGP had submitted its counterpoints and objections during the meeting, which was convened to discuss SIR-related matters.
The contrasting positions have raised questions over how the two groups were represented at the CEO’s office and whether signing the attendance register has any bearing on the larger leadership dispute.
However, the CEO has clarified that the authority to decide which faction is authorised to represent RGP rests with the Election Commission of India (ECI), not the Goa CEO. Any correspondence received on the dispute will be forwarded to the Commission for its consideration.
