Dharmesh Saglani and his group of councillors and supporters celebrate after the no-confidence motion was passed against SMC Chairperson Yeshwant Madkar.
BICHOLIM
The BJP and Congress have been engaged in a fierce battle since the past 10 months to take control of the 13-member Sankhali Municipal Council (SMC).
The battle began on June 9, 2020 when Dharmesh Sagalani's seven-year tenure as chairperson of SMC came to an end when he was ousted in a no-confidence motion by 7-5 votes, enabling a BJP-backed panel to take control of municipal council.
Later on June 17, Yeshwant Madkar from the BJP-backed group was elected as the new SMC chairperson after defeating Dharmesh Saglani by 7-5 votes.
There was also a change in the deputy chairperson when Kunda Madkar was on Friday ousted in a no-confidence motion by 7-6 votes on July 3 and Damodar Ghadi was elected as SMC deputy chairperson by 7-6 votes on July 22.
The 13-member council then lost one of its members when SMC Vice Chairperson Damodar Ghadi passed away on November 21, leaving the BJP and Congress panels tied with six members apiece.
However, luck favoured the Congress-backed councillor Ansira Khan, when she was elected in a draw of lots to get elected as SMC deputy chairperson on December 17.
A by-poll was conducted in Ward 9 as the seat had been vacant following the demise of Ghadi and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant received a setback when Congress-backed candidate Rajendra Ameshkar defeated the BJP-backed candidate Dashrath Ajgaonkar by a slim margin of 17 votes on March 22.
The changed the political equations with the Congress-backed panel getting a slim majority in the council.
The Congress-controlled SMC had already moved a no-confidence motion against SMC chairperson Yashvant Madkar. However, a lengthy delay in convening a meeting to decide on the no-confidence motion led the Saglani-led panel approached the high court, with the court directing the no-confidence motion to be taken up for discussion on Friday.
The BJP panel then made an attempt to disqualify Congress-backed councillor Rajesh Sawal. However, the matter was challenged in the high court and the court granted relief to Sawal, granting a stay on the disqualification till April 19, thereby enabling Sawal to take part in the no-confidence motion against Madkar.
