The Goan: In one sentence, why should people vote for you?
Dayanand Mandrekar: People should vote for me for the development works that I have done in the constituency in my past tenure.
The Goan: If you are part of the government, which is the first legislation you would like to pass in the assembly?
DM: Legislations are framed depending on the situation at that particular time. Laws can be made and also amended in the House. What legislations have to be made is not included in the election manifesto.
The Goan: Which is that one leader outside your party that you admire as a politician and why?
DM: A lot of politics has changed in the last 10 years. Old leaders have been replaced with new crop of politicians. But I always admired Dayanand Narvekar. I liked the way he debated on the floor of the House and raised questions in the Assembly.
The Goan: Who would be your CM choice, should your party come into power?
DM: We are fighting the elections under the leadership of one person. We are contesting this election under the leadership of CM Pramond Sawant. And if Sawant gets absolute majority then there is no question of who should be the CM.
The Goan: Do you justify a merger by 2/3rd or do you consider it as a move against the mandate of people? Explain.
DM: Changing parties is like ditching the people who voted for you. One should faithfully stick to the party you have contested from. I have started my political career with the BJP and will remain with the party till the end. I will never contest from any other party.
The Goan: Do you feel the 2022 election will throw a clear winner? Who are your top three finishers along with seats they are likely to win.
DM: As per surveys conducted by different agencies in the country and the prevailing mood in the State, BJP can win 18 to 22 seats in this election. We will get an absolute majority. Since we are working with the BJP, we don’t think about the other parties. We don’t know how they function and we are not interested.
