Wednesday’s political developments which saw eight Congress MLAs switching over to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have bolstered the latter’s legislative strength to 28 but it has also disturbed the internal equilibrium and symptoms of anger within are showing less than 24 hours later.
First off the blocks to signal dissent was the BJP State President Sadanand Shet Tanavade himself who uncharacteristically was his hands clean and indicating that the decision to admit the eight Congress MLAs was thrust upon the State unit by the Central leadership.
“The proposal was not put before me...I would have said no, if it was put before me,” Tanavade said on Thursday, adding that BJP is a national party and such decisions are taken by the Central leadership.
He was speaking to the media after a meeting of the BJP’s core committee, where he said the members were briefed of Wednesday’s political developments by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
He claimed that the Congress MLAs directly approached leaders in Delhi to join the party. “I remember in July, we were told that eight Congress MLAs would join. Our central leader Bhupender Yadav had also come to Goa then. But it did not happen then. Now they (Congress MLAs) formed a group of eight and it happened,” Tanavade said.
At the government level too several ministers are said to be upset with the induction of the Congress MLAs as it has the potential to upset the power equations with the Cabinet and the ruling coalition.
For the record however, at least three ministers -- Vishwajit Rane, Nilesh Cabral and Mauvin Godinho -- have made statements welcoming the development.
However, privately, they and others have conveyed their angst to the party leadership and Tanavade’s statement deflecting responsibility for the decision to the Central leadership is apparently aimed at nipping the discord in the bud.
Tanavade, nonetheless has a task on his hands to placate and bring around several other party leaders and cadres to accept the decision to admit the eight Congress MLAs, especially in constituencies where senior leaders find their rivals now as party colleagues.
Prominent among the leaders who are said to be upset are former ministers Dayanand Mandrekar, Milind Naik and Jayesh Salgaonkar.
Mandrekar faces the ignominy of having to smoke the peace pipe with the Lobos -- Michael and Delilah -- with whom he fought a no-holds-barred battle in Siolim in the February assembly elections.
Naik, who again was involved in a long drawn battle with Sankalp Amonkar in Mormugao constituency finds himself in the same boat as Mandrekar and so does Salgaonkar.
Tanavade, meanwhile, sought to play down these issues saying both he and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will be personally paying visits to party leaders across the State to explain the decision. “We follow decisions taken by the Central leadership,” Tanavade said, adding that party cadre has the utmost importance in the BJP and they would be kept abreast of the political decision.
“BJP is the national party. Local unit cannot take such decisions,” Tanavade said.
On Digambar Kamat who had deserted the party in 2005 leading to the government of the late Manohar Parrikar losing power, Tanavade said even he was a victim of that development as he was an MLA then.
“It is history now. The party takes decisions as per political situation,” Tanavade said.
Meanwhile, the core committee which met on Thursday was briefed about the new political developments by Sawant.
The CM later told the media that the meeting was indeed convened to brief them about the political development and to discuss the programmes which will be organised to commemorate the Prime Minister’s birthday on September 17.
