PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai and Urban Development Minister Francis D’Souza have been anointed from the current coalition to take over the reins of power in the absence of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who will be away for his treatment. The move is a big thumbs down to the PWD minister who until a few days back was projected as an apparent interim successor to the ailing CM.
Resentment against Sudin has been brewing within the coalition even during the time when he was named Leader of the House in the just-concluded curtailed budget session. To make matters worse, the PWD minister never had an easy-going approach with some ministers and is known to have run into conflicts and verbal duels with several ministers in the team. Against such a backdrop, this formula appears to be a perfect foil.
If we may recall, Sudin had faced the ire of Vijai, his current colleague in the top-3, at a cabinet meeting of September last year where both were in strong disagreement over how a small stretch of land close to the new district hospital in Margao has been left out of the sewerage project line between Arlem and Shirvodem. In a recent case, strong undercurrents were at play when supporters of Priol MLA Govind Gawade indulged in a virtual war of words against Sudin at Bhutkhamb-Keri on Sunday. Water scarcity in the area sparked of unpleasant exchanges with Gawade stealing the show after laying the foundation stone for the construction of two water tanks of 800 cubic meter and commissioning of water pipeline at Karmale Keri. The PWD minister muttered that he knows his responsibility and he is working on those lines. Add to this, the traditional Sudin-Mauvin Godinho rivalry which dates back to the days when the Dabolim legislator was in the Congress. Mauvin accused the PWD minister on various fronts while Sudin labeled Mauvin as a political joker.
Parrikar is expected to be away for a good two months and during this time it will be a crucial test for the trio at the helm. What would be interesting to see is how these three senior politicians with contrasting ideologies and different political backgrounds come on common ground and take key decisions of the state. All said and done, this is also a make-or-break situation for the alliance. On one hand, this arrangement can usher in some much-needed unity within the coalition and more especially between the Goa Forward and the MGP camps which are always at war. On the flip side, it also runs a risk of tearing the coalition apart, now that controls are in their hands. While the challenges at hand are enormous, what also remains to be seen is how well these three collectively stand up to the tests of governance and handle public issues in the interim. Over to Sudin, Vijai and Francis.
