PANAJI
Amid heightened political activity to stitch alliances, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) president, Deepak Dhavalikar, has indicated that discussions on seat-sharing arrangement with the ruling BJP were “progressing positively” and a final decision is likely by mid-December.
Dhavalikar said, both parties are working with greater coordination and clarity than before and a strong effort to keep the alliance intact is on.
The two parties are currently in an alliance and the MGP has one member in the Pramod Sawant government with Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar holding the power portfolio among others.
His comments on the pre-poll alliance, significantly come days after former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar formally returned to the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, State BJP president Damu Naik, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and several senior party leaders.
Parsekar while being readmitted had said he was ready to shoulder any responsibility assigned to him and left the question of his possible candidature in Mandrem entirely to the BJP leadership.
MGP currently holds Mandrem, represented by Jit Arolkar, who until recently was seen as cozying up to the BJP. However, Parsekar’s re-induction into the saffron party could alter that dynamic and the electoral landscape in the constituency.
Arolkar on his part has categorically denied reports that he was planning to join the BJP, rejecting the reports as baseless.
“I am committed to the MGP and desire to continue serving Mandrem constituents,” Arolkar said, adding that if the MGP-BJP alliance works, both parties must extend “100 per cent support” to each other’s candidates, regardless of which party is allotted a particular constituency.
At a recent MGP general body meeting in Panaji, attended by both the Dhavalikar brothers and Arolkar as well, the party had signalled flexibility and preparedness.
While reiterating its keenness to continue the alliance with the BJP, Dhavalikar had made it clear that it was also ready to chart an independent course if negotiations fail.
The MGP has staked a claim to the Shiroda constituency, with party workers strongly backing the move. However, the constituency is represented by the BJP’s Water Resources Minister, Subhash Shirodkar, and the latter is unlikely to negotiate on it.
Another challenge to overcome if the alliance between BJP and MGP is to stay intact going to the polls is the Priol seat, currently represented by tribal leader and former minister Govind Gaude.
The Dhavalikar-Gaude rivalry in Priol, dates back to 2012, when MGP’s Dhavalikar had won the seat for a second time, albeit by a thin margin with Gaude contesting as an Independent coming a close second.
In 2017, however, Gaude won it the first time contesting again as an Independent and defeating Dhavalikar. In 2022, Gaude contested on the BJP’s ticket and retained the seat against Dhavalikar, but by a narrow margin.
