Council witnessed alliance rule, defections, cross-voting and BJP’s return to power
Margao Municipal employees presenting a memento to Civic Chief Damu Shirodkar at a farewell interaction on Tuesday.
MARGAO
The curtains finally came down on the five-year tenure of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) on Tuesday, marking the end of an eventful term that saw the Class-A civic body being led by three different chairpersons amid dramatic political shifts.
The Goa Forward Party-Congress alliance had assumed control of the civic body after registering a sweeping victory in the 2021 municipal elections. However, the political landscape within the MMC changed dramatically around 16 months later when the BJP regained influence in the council following the defection of then Congress MLA Digambar Kamat to the saffron party in September 2022.
Municipal employees on Tuesday bid farewell to outgoing MMC Chairperson Damu Shirodkar, presenting him with a memento in his chamber, officially signalling the end of the council’s five-year term.
The tenure of the present council began on May 27, 2021, when Goa Forward-Congress alliance-backed candidate Lyndon Pereira took charge as Municipal Chairperson. In keeping with a power-sharing arrangement between the alliance partners, Lyndon stepped down on August 26, 2022, after serving for 15 months.
The transition that followed triggered unprecedented political developments in the history of the Margao civic body. The election to choose Lyndon’s successor coincided with the defection of Margao MLA Digambar Kamat from the Congress to the BJP on September 14, 2022, reducing the Goa Forward-led group and independents to a minority.
In a surprise turn of events, however, Goa Forward-backed Independent candidate Ganashyam Shirodkar emerged victorious in the chairperson election, defeating BJP-backed candidate Damu Shirodkar due to cross-voting within the BJP camp.
The BJP government responded swiftly by promulgating an Ordinance amending the Goa Municipalities Act, doing away with the secret ballot system for the election of municipal chairpersons and making voting by show of hands mandatory.
The move altered the equations within the MMC. In the subsequent election held on October 12, 2022, BJP candidate Damu Shirodkar was elected Municipal Chairperson through a show of hands. He continued in the post until the expiry of the council’s tenure on Tuesday.
From October 12, 2022, to May 26, 2026, Damu Shirodkar headed the civic body with the backing of Margao MLA and PWD Minister Digambar Kamat. Although there were a couple of unsuccessful attempts by sections of the ruling councillors to seek a change in leadership, both Kamat and the BJP leadership firmly opposed any move to replace Shirodkar.
As the curtain fell on the council’s tenure, municipal staff honoured Damu Shirodkar for his leadership over the last three-and-a-half years, expressing gratitude for his stewardship of the civic body during a politically turbulent phase.
