MARGAO
A day after the Margao Civic Alliance (MCA) stormed to power in the Margao civic elections, several questions have come to stare at the alliance leaders, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat and Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai, on sharing power in the 25-member civic body.
Even before the victory celebrations could end, questions are doing the rounds in the corridors of the civic body and outside as to who will play the big brother’s role in the civic body “ Sardesai or Kamat.
That’s not all. The MCA has a total of 17 seats in its kitty, nine won by the Goa Forward and the remaining eight by Kamat’s Model Margao. This has thrown a question whether Sardesai with nine seats will stake claim for the coveted post of Chairperson and leave the post of the deputy for the alliance partner.
The two alliance partners have gone to the public with the promise of forging Team Goa to defeat the BJP in 2022. With a view to creating a feel-good factor in both Margao and Fatorda, both Kamat and Sardesai may be tempted to prop up a candidate hailing from the majority community to head the council in an election year.
That’s not all. In the event they agree to prop up a majority community candidate for the top seat, the duo may have to grapple with the question of whether to field a Bhandari samaj or some other candidate to fill the top slot.
Given that both Fatorda and Margao play host to a significant Bhandari samaj population, sources said the two alliance partners may not be averse to nominating a councillor elect from the Bhandari Samaj community.
In this context, sources do not rule out the possibility of the Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai batting for outgoing chairperson Pooja Naik for the top slot if the two leaders settle for a Bhandari community person to head the civic body.
Digambar’s close aide and two-time councillor, Damu Shirodkar, may stake claim for the post in the event the two leaders decide in favour of a Bhandari candidate given his seniority.
Political observers say both Kamat and Sardesai may have to also grapple with the question of accommodating former chairperson Ganashyam Shirodkar following his return to the council on the Model Margao banner.
Given his status as the seniormost councillor elect from the Model Margao panel, observers say it remains to be seen how both Kamat and Sardesai agree to meet the aspiration of the two-time former MMC chairperson.
Apart from outgoing chairperson Pooja, the Goa Forward chief, sources said, will not be able to ignore the seniority of fourth-time councillor Raju Naik and two-time councillor Lyndon Pereira.
Both Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat and Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai said the leadership question will be settled across the table. Kamat told The Goan that the leadership question will be decided after he and Sardesai meet later this week. “There’s nothing wrong if councillors lay claim for the top post. I am confident that the question will be resolved amicably,” he said.
Sardesai too echoed similar sentiments, saying the candidates for the post of chairperson and the deputy will be decided at an appropriate time after discussion with the Opposition leader.
Both Kamat and Sardesai know for sure that the leadership question cannot come in the way of the alliance, more so when they have time and again favoured a grand alliance to checkmate the BJP in 2022.
