MARGAO
With a no-hold-barred battle for the post of Margao Municipal Chairperson just days away, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to ensure smooth sailing and confirm the saffron flag flies atop the civic body after 17 years.
The BJP leadership comprising Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Congress-turned-BJP MLA Digambar Kamat has almost zeroed in on a senior Goa Forward-backed councillor.
Sources in the know pointed out that the party leadership had a round of meetings with the Goa Forward-backed councillor, who is believed to have agreed in principle to embrace the party. In fact, sources do not rule out the possibility of the Goa Forward councillor joining the BJP ahead of the crucial election to the post of MMC Chairperson scheduled mid-week.
What, however, has baffled political observers is the fact that the Ordinance route is being planned to circumvent the election by secret ballot when the BJP’s strength in the civic body would have gone up to 16 members with the Goa Forward-backed councillor showing an inclination to dump the regional party and embrace the ruling dispensation.
Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai did comment on reports of poaching resorted by the ruling dispensation to wean away his councillors. “I have nothing to say if the BJP is trying to poach my councillor with promises of jobs and cash. If someone benefits by way of jobs and money, I have nothing to say,” he said.
He, however, demanded to know why is the government still going ahead with the Ordinance route to subvert voting by secret ballot when the BJP is sitting pretty in the civic body with 15 councillors and is trying to poach Goa Forward councillors.
“This only goes to show that the ruling party has not trust and faith in the City Fathers," he added.
When BJP's numbers in MMC swelled overnight
MARGAO
Guess how is the BJP enjoying a majority in the Margao Municipal Council when the party had no mandate of Madgavkars and Fatordekars to rule the A-class civic body in the 2021 municipal polls?
Well, the BJP’s tally of numbers in the 25-member civic body overnight swelled to 15 with the Margao Civic Alliance (MCA) stitched by Congress MLA Digambar Kamat and Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai down in the dumps after Kamat embraced the saffron party.
Statistics show that the BJP had finished a poor third in the result tally, winning seven out of the 25-seats at stake in the municipality. Of the seven seats, the party had won three seats from Fatorda and two seats each in Curtorim and Margao.
On the other hand, the MCA forged by Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai had won a clear mandate with the alliance bagging 17 seats in the 25-member Civic body.
With the Goa Forward emerging as a major alliance partner after the party bagged nine seats as against eight seats won by Kamat’s Model Margao, the Goa Forward earned the privilege to have its man Lyndon Pereira elected as the Municipal Chairperson. As part of seat sharing, the Goa Forward and the Margao MLA agreed to share the Chairperson’s post among its nominee for 15 months each.
Relegated to the third spot after the party’s determined bid to return to power came a cropper, the BJP had virtually resigned to its fate in the scheme of things. However, the party’s strength rose to eight after Goa Forward-backed councillor Shweta Lotlikar quit the regional party to embrace the saffron party on the eve of the 2022 Assembly polls.
BJP’s tally rose to nine in the civic body and the party became the single largest group when Independent councillor Mahesh Amonkar embraced the ruling party over a month ago.
And, the ruling body overnight enjoyed majority numbers in the 25-member body after Congress MLA Digambar Kamat returned to the BJP last month with his seven-member group of councillors, taking the BJP’s tally in the MMC to 15.
