Why MGP's Lion roars in the Jungle Raaj
SANDESH PRABHUDESAI, PANAJI | 16 September 2016 23:50 IST
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party suddenly appears to have become dear darling of every political group, irrespective of their ideological leanings.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, who have created a new battleground called MoI, are betting their electoral luck on the MGP.
Some of the desperate ‘loyal soldiers’ of Congress, who feel that their royal ship is sinking, are also trying to jump over the MGP’s boat to sail through and land on the beach of power.
The battle lines are clearly drawn as far as these three political groups are concerned.
The only common factor among these three rivals – the BJP, the BBSM and the ‘loyal’ Congressmen – is that they need MGP to achieve their goal in Poll 2017!
“We are getting feelers from various politicians, who want to break up and join us. If it happens, it would obviously increase our seat share in the alliance”, says Lavoo Mamledar, the MGP working president.
After sharing power with the Congress for the full five-year term since 2007 with the support of mere two MLAs, it is also successfully completing another full term by embracing the BJP.
Will it break away at the last minute by quitting the two cabinet posts, including most lucrative PWD and transport, while election is round the corner?
The three-member party always shouted aloud against giving grants to the Church-run English medium primary schools and ‘internally’ supported the decisions of the Congress as well as the BJP.
The Dhawalikar brothers did not utter a single word in the cabinet meetings but endorsed the decisions which they are ideologically supposed to be opposed to.
In spite of this, MGP is the first choice of the BBSM if it snaps ties with the BJP and joins hands with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-led anti-BJP political battle, to defeat its own political wing.
“We know that the MGP leaders have compromised their principles. But they are less compromising than the BJP, thus we prefer them,” says Subhash Velingkar, who formed parallel RSS after he was sacked as Goa RSS chief by Nagpur leadership for declaring anti-BJP political front.
The pro-merger MGP, the party of Hindu Bahujan Samaj, which had ruled Goa for the first 17 years since 1963, rose from 2 to 3 MLAs after fighting 9 seats in 2012.
To fight 2017 poll once again with the BJP, it has officially demanded 14 seats this time.
“We are already working in 25 constituencies and we may demand 20 seats if some MLAs from other parties come and join us”, says Mamledar.
News reports are flashed by several newspapers that Congress legislators like Pandurang Madkaikar from Cumbarjua and Babu Kavalekar from Quepem may contest on MGP tickets.
There are also rumours that BJP MLA like Ganesh Gaonkar from Sanvordem, who may be dropped this time to accommodate party’s Goa chief Vinay Tendulkar, may contest with MGP’s support.
Naresh Sawal, an ‘independent’ mentor of Goa Forward from Bicholim has already declared that his voters want him to contest on MGP ticket.
Former BJP MLA like Vijai Pai Khot from Canacona has also reportedly flashed banners with Lion to wish his voters Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.
While sharing power with anybody and everybody, MGP supremo Sudin Dhawalikar is singlehandedly countering the demand of his central executive to break the alliance and go independent.
“We will continue our alliances all over India, including with Akali Dal in Punjab and MGP in Goa as part of our national policy”, BJP’s local chief Tendulkar has said.
In fact political analysts vouch that the alliance would continue since BJP’s union minister Nitin Gadkari is made Goa-in charge of the BJP to fight election.
The ‘understanding’ between Gadkari and Dhawalikar is considered to be Vitamin M, which may simply overshadow MoI.
Ultimately, it is this ‘political flexibility’ that has made the Lion roar once again in the Jungle Raaj!!!
