The simmering discontent of Dy CM Manohar 'Babu' Ajgaonkar came to the surface on Monday as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave a rousing welcome to Pernem ticket aspirant Praveen Arlekar into the BJP fold in the presence of a galaxy of party leaders. He not only congratulated Arlekar for shunning Trinamool Congress Party but also reassured the youth that Arlekar will take up employment as a priority, making it obvious that he is the man for the ticket.
The CM also asked Ajgaonkar to stay with the party so that he could be respected too. This piece of message is loud and clear that he is not the BJP man in Pernem anymore. Ajgaonkar, who was made an offer for Margao has categorically refused on the reasoning that he is a four-time MLA from the Pernem constituency.Dropping Ajgaonkar from Pernem may be a calculated strategy of the BJP, but one fails to understand his blatantly shameful act of seeking re-entry into the MGP, the very party which he betrayed to assume power. The tourism minister is running out of options. The MGP has nominated its candidate in Rajan Korgaonkar. He loses out on TMC because the party is in alliance with MGP. It remains to be seen if Congress offers him some hope, despite the party repeatedly drilling home the point that it is not ready to take back defectors. It's another story that many faces who have exited the party have been allowed back on a winnability quotient.
In politics there are no permanent friends and enemies, so goes the popular adage and it holds so true in the case of Ajgaonkar who has switched parties and won elections on Congress, BJP, Congress again and MGP tickets. Ajgaonkar has preferred to align himself with the party in power on the pretext of the development of his constituency and the welfare of the people.
With Ajgaonkar openly taking swipes against Sawant, it appears that his honeymoon with the BJP is nearing an end. After hailing the CM till recently for his leadership and decision-making, Ajgaonkar on Monday squarely blamed him for trying to push the entertainment zone project at Dhargal and went on to explain how he managed to stall it. Can the tourism minister, who is also the deputy chief minister, explain why he did not raise opposition to the project when it came before the Investment Promotion Board earlier? Last week, Ajgaonkar took another jibe against the CM saying that he was not responsible for the Sunburn festival and any queries on that should be diverted to Sawant who had the file.
BJP has indicated earlier that it will not be in a position to give tickets to all the standing MLAs. While the electoral campaign picks up intensity, it is to be seen how many of those who had betrayed their original parties will be left in the lurch like Ajgaonkar. It’s time for them to brace up to the harsh realities of politics.
