Former PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar has seemingly disturbed the uneasy calm in the BJP, and his probable inclusion in the cabinet has become a fiercely contested subject within a section of the party. The election result may have pushed MGP in a helpless situation after being relegated to two seats against a projection of around six, but what is intriguing is the fact that the BJP is going out of its way, and even over-riding party sentiment to accommodate MGP. Furthermore, post-result the party doesn’t enjoy the ‘dependency factor’ with its minuscule numbers since the BJP is sitting pretty with a strength of 20 and enjoys the support of all three Independents.
Surprisingly, the BJP is intent in opening this post-poll friendship with MGP when Sudin and Co had shown no inclination of forging a pre-poll or a post-alliance with them. If we may recall, Sudin had been highly critical of the BJP government, and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and termed any possible association with them as political suicide and “death by strangulation”. Now, what is even more surprising is the fact that BJP is rewarding MGP when they have offered unconditional support to the government, with no riders attached.
Going by the body language of Sawant and the State BJP leaders, and Sudin, it is obvious that this crucial decision has been imposed upon the State leadership from the Centre. The question is what prompted this decision and how the BJP went about making peace with the Dhavalikars. Is the BJP central leadership obliging on any post-electoral commitment made against a tacit agreement of support to preempt Congress moves? Let’s not forget that Congress was favoured to win the elections and MGP was believed to be emerging as kingmaker. Is the Sudin move to effectively reduce the strength of the Opposition, against the fact that he is known to be a fierce critic? Or, is the BJP bringing in MGP as insurance against possible uncertainties with Independents just to add stability to the dispensation? Or, is there an ideological long-term electoral reasoning?
Whatever the BJP reasoning on MGP, it is obvious that the partymen are averse to including Sudin in the cabinet. While at the swearing-in at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, the resentment against Sudin was out in the open. Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate dared Dhavalikar to merge his regional party into the BJP while Ponda MLA Ravi Naik too made his opposition clear. To counter that, Sudin retorted that the local BJP leaders are small fry to handle this issue.
The biggest drawback of parties like BJP and Congress is the high command culture where crucial decisions are imposed on State leaderships from the top. The MGP invitation has not only dampened the mood within but has also caused an unnecessary unease in the team. Given the sensitive nature of the issue, the BJP bosses should have exercised some level of democracy and engaged State leaders instead of remote-controlling the government formation exercise. Inducting Sudin against the wishes of the State party leaders will only lead to fissures, infighting and groupism that will affect the BJP in the long run.
