At a meeting held late Friday night, the GSM and MGP agreed to hitch their wagons for what is likely to be a tumultuous ride through the BJP countryside. There is an air of excitement in Ponda as Sudin Dhavalikar makes a signature move that could make him chief minister or relegate him to the back row. And he has chosen the GSM as a partner for this now-or-never journey. It is difficult to say who needs whom more at this point of time, but the intention is the same “ to gain at the cost of the BJP. The GSM is a new political formation born out of anger against the BJP for giving grants to English primary schools run by the Diocesan Society of Education. The MGP, on the other hand, has pedigree and firmly believes that its moment has arrived. The BJP is on the back foot, the Congress is obsessed with Vijai Sardessai and the MGP suddenly looks like a more credible opposition. While the GSM brings organizational skills to the table it also comes with a communal tag which restricts the MGP. But if the agenda is to make inroads in BJP constituencies the two are not strange bedfellows. But there is one hitch. In the past the MGP has always been in power because it moved seamlessly from the BJP to the Congress and back without damaging its core vote bank. The idea of replacing the BJP is farfetched and the best the MGP can hope for is a post-poll agreement. So no matter which side the MGP goes post-election, the GSM will end up a loser. By hitching its wagon to the MGP, the GSM has committed harakiri.
