PANAJI
A day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi made his, "we will defeat the BJP" speech at Fatorda, news filtered in that former Pernem MLA Babu Ajgaonkar would be joining the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) on Sunday.
Ajgaonkar was spotted in one of the front rows at Gandhi’s first public meeting held at Fatorda, Margao, ahead of the State Legislative Assembly elections 2017.
Speaking to The Goan, the former minister for panchayats and sports confirmed that he would be joining the MGP, but declined to reveal additional details stating that he would speak after joining MGP.
"I am joining MGP and I will reveal my reasons for quitting the Congress tomorrow," said Ajgaonkar.
The sudden development is a major blow to the Congress as Ajgoankar was a member of the 20-member Congress Pradesh Election Committee (PEC), its core candidate selection group at the State-level. The PEC is in the last stages of finalising its candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls, following which recommendations would be forwarded to AICC for final approval.
Sources from Congress disclosed that Ajgaonkar was present at the last two meetings of the PEC convened by AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh. Although no candidates were shortlisted during these meetings, Congress higher-ups are anxious over the fact that sensitive issues concerning party’s campaign and poll strategy featured prominently at these meetings.
The MGP is expected to gain from his entry as Ajgaonkar is expected to be its candidate from Pernem to take on Environment Minister Rajendra Arlekar, who is reportedly losing his hold over the constituency.
Ajgaonkar had won from Dhargalim constituency for three consecutive terms. In 1999, he had won by 1096 votes by defeating the BJP candidate Balkrishna Dhargalkar.
During the State Legislative Assembly elections 2002, he had contested as a BJP candidate and won by a margin of 5,762 votes. He contested the 2007 elections on a Congress ticket and won by a margin of 774 votes defeating BJP candidate Vithu Morajkar. He held portfolios like sports and panchayats in the State Cabinet. However in 2012 State Legislative Assembly polls, he contested in Pernem constituency as a Congress candidate and lost the election by a huge margin of 8,353 votes to BJP MLA Rajendra Arlekar.
