CANACONA
In a bid to reconcile differences among past and present party workers, the BJP State President Vinay Tendulkar and South MP Adv Narendra Sawaikar asked local leaders to bury their differences and to strengthen the party for betterment of the constituency.
Many of the rebel block leaders reportedly agreed to rebuild and make BJP stronger in the constituency, but with a condition that they would keep both Ramesh Tawadkar and Vijay Poi Khot away and would only function at the block level leadership.
“The party wants us back and we agree to the principle that no individual leader is greater than the party. We are ready to embrace the party once again and work to make it stronger, but only under the leadership of the Block and no other leader or leaders,” one rebel block leader is reported to have told the state BJP leaders.
According to sources, Tendulkar and Adv Sawaikar along with Sadanand Tanavade and BJP District (South) President Sarvanand Bhagat reportedly reached Canacona on Tuesday morning and separately held talks with both factions, before convening a joint meeting at a private resort in Kindlebhag-Rajbag.
Incidentally, both Tawadkar and Poi Khot were kept out of the talks.
Canacona Block President Mahesh (Govind) Naik along with rebel leaders, former vice-president Sanjay Komarpant, general secretary Vishal Dessai, ex-Mahila president Chanda Dessai, ZP Dr Pushpa Aiya, youth secretary Sanju Pagui, Tanvi Komarpant, Prashant Desai (who is also sarpanch of Shristhal) and Sanju Dessai voiced their strong views on developments that unfolded during the recent assembly elections.
Youth wing president Pankaj Naik Gaonkar and Suraj Naik Gaukar who worked with the BJP candidate for assembly polls were also present at the meeting.
The rebel local leaders also sought to know the status of Tawadkar and Sawaikar quickly replied that the party leadership would decide on Tawadkar and stopped short of giving any hint on whether Tawadkar would be welcomed back into the party.
Meanwhile, Tawadkar’s close confidantes and CMC opposition councillors, Guru Komarpant, Dayanand Pagui, Hemant Naikgaunkar and ex-CMC chairperson Sameer Dessai sought a separate audience with Sawaikar, Tendulkar and Tanawade and reportedly assured to work for the party, provided that both leaders were kept away.
