the goan I network
MARGAO
“Wait till April 14 to know what role the MGP will play in the Lok Sabha polls,” was how MGP chief Deepak Dhavalikar recated when The Goan asked for his comments whether the regional party will have any role in the ensuing election.
He further said that the people of Shiroda will not accept a defector, exuding confidence that the voters will give him a victory with a clear margin of votes.
Deepak was in the South Goa District Collectorate on Monday noon to attend a meeting of the candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections and bypolls for the three Assembly seats. “The MGP will unveil its role to the people of Goa vis a vis the Lok Sabha election. We will certainly play our role, but one will have to wait till April 14 to know what role we will play in the election,” he said.
When his attention was drawn to the support extended by the MGP to the Congress in the Mapusa bypoll, Deepak said the party has empowered the constituency-level committees of the party to take a call on whom to support in the ensuing election. “Accordingly, the Mapusa constituency unit of the MGP has decided to extend support to the Congress. There’s nothing wrong in that,” he added.
When asked on what awaits him in the Shiroda bypoll where he will cross swords against former Congress MLA Subhash Shirodkar, Deepak exuded confidence that people will not forgive a defector. “I am confident that people of Shiroda will teach the defectors a lesson in the ensuing bypoll,” he said, while asserting voters will give a clear mandate in his favour.
Deepak’s statement that the MGP will unveil its role in the ensuing Lok Sabha election assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of reports that the party leadership may extend support to the Congress candidates in the bypolls, replicating the stand taken by the Mapusa unit of the party.
Interestingly, sources in the know say that some of the Congress leaders from Shiroda have reportedly made a common cause with Deepak to ensure the defeat of the BJP candidate Subhash Shirodkar.
