MAPUSA
Michael Lobo’s decision to quit the BJP has not come as a surprise and it will make no difference to the prospects of the party in the assembly polls, said State BJP President, Sadanand Tanavade and expressed confidence that BJP will bag both the Calangute and the Siolim seats.
Tanavade, on Monday, also said that the leadership was aware that he (Lobo) was on his way out but tolerated his tantrums since he was part of the larger BJP family.
“We knew this was coming. So we did not want to remove him from the party. We were waiting when he would quit. We were facing a lot of problems as he (Michael Lobo) was interfering in Siolim and Mapusa constituencies. His leaving will not make a big difference to us,” Tanavde said.
He said Lobo was demanding a ticket for his wife which the party stoutly opposed.
“We could consider if he was demanding a ticket for a party karyakarta but a ticket for a family member was just not acceptable to the party,” he said.
Lobo came up as a karyakarta of the BJP and was first elected as Zilla Panchayat member and later became an MLA for the first time in 2012 and re-elected in 2017 from the Calangute constituency.
Tanavade said that Bardez was not Lobo’s fiefdom and BJP will do well in all the seven constituencies including Calangute and Siolim.
“Bardez is not his property. I challenge him. BJP is a national party. He will realize it later,” he said.
