MARGAO
It’s official. Goa Forward Party-backed Margao Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira will step down from office on or before August 28 as part of the agreement party chief Vijai Sardesai had entered with his Margao counterpart Digambar Kamat after the 2021 civic polls.
The Goa Forward chief has conveyed his decision to the Margao MLA when the duo met on Tuesday to take stock of the situation in the Margao civic body, controlled by the Margao Civic Alliance (MCA), which was propped up by the duo in the run up to the 2021 Municipal polls.
Sources informed that though Kamat reportedly told Sardesai that the duo should meet after Ganesh Chathurti to discuss the modalities towards the transfer of power in the civic body, the Goa Forward Chief is believed to have maintained that Chairperson Lyndon will step down from office on or before August 28.
In fact, Sardesai is reported to have told Kamat that he would prefer Lyndon stepping down from office way ahead of the August 28 time-frame so as to facilitate election of the new civic chief on time.
When contacted, Sardesai told The Goan that he and his Margao counterpart discussed a host of issues at a meeting on Tuesday. “Kamat wanted to have a further meeting between us after Ganesh Chathurti to discuss the election of the new MMC Chairperson. But, I have insisted there should be no more meeting and that our Chairperson Lyndon will resign and step down from office before the August 28 time-frame,” Sardesai said.
He added: “During discussions we had last year after the MCA stormed to power in the Margao Municipality by keeping the BJP at bay, I and Kamat had agreed that the Goa Forward candidate Lyndon would preside over the civic body as Chairperson since our panel had won nine seats as against eight won by Kamat-backed group. It was also then agreed that Lyndon would step down from office after 15 months, which ends on August 28. I have told Kamat in clear terms that I will stick to my word and ensure Lyndon steps down from office before August 28.”
In the 25-member Margao Civic body, the Margao Civic Alliance enjoys the support of 15 Councilors, numbers enough to retain power.
The Goa Forward enjoys the support of eight Councillors, one down from its original tally of nine members, after Councillor Shweta Lotlikar switched sides to the BJP in the run up to the 2022 Assembly polls.
On the other hand, Digambar Kamat’s group enjoys the support of seven Councilors for the moment, one down from the original tally, after Councilor Ganashyam Shirodkar quit the group last year after protesting over the choice of MMC Chairperson.
BJP’s tally in the Civic body has increased from seven to nine and is now the single largest group in the 25-member Municipality. Ganashyam Shirodkar is the lone Independent member.
