the goan I network
MARGAO
The last time Margao MLA Digambar Kamat backed Councilor Doris Texeira for the post of Margao Municipal chairperson way back in June 2005, he succeeding in dislodging the BJP-backed chairperson Kamlini Painginkar from office, ending the saffron party’s free run in the civic body.
That was in 2005 when Kamat severed all ties with the BJP, before bringing a change in guard in the Margao Municipality, by displacing the saffron party from the civic body.
Fourteen-years down the line, Kamat is back in the news. His trusted lieutenant Doris Texeira has set her eyes on the coveted post, but the question that still remains unanswered is whether the Margao MLA will give his green signal to the former chairperson in a bid to dislodge the Goa Forward party from the MMC.
Unlike 2005, however, when Doris had ended BJP’s stranglehold over the civic body, she may have to bank on the BJP-backed councilors if she hopes to put an end to the four-year reign of Goa Forward in the Margao Municipality.
Sources say Doris will not be able to muster the required numbers on her own to dislodge the Goa Forward party in the municipality, unless she has the blessings and support of the Leader of the Opposition. Reason: The Congress-backed group in the Margao Civic body enjoys the support of only six councilors, hardly sufficient to reach the magic figure of 13 in the 25-member civic body.
And, Doris or for that matter, the Margao MLA cannot hope to wrest the MMC from the Goa Forward without the support of the seven-member BJP-backed councilors.
That’s where the role of the Margao MLA will come into play. Sources say the Congress-backed group will certainly hope that Kamat will use his personal rapport with councilors, cutting across party lines, to try and muster their support take the battle in the Goa Forward camp.
If sources are to be believed, the Margao MLA has been in touch with councilor Raju Shirodkar, who has shifted his allegiance from the BJP in support of Goa Forward candidate Pooja Naik. He is also believed to be in touch with councilors from the Goa Forward camp ahead of the election scheduled on November 22.
Kamat, however, has begged to differ. “I had always supported some of these councilors irrespective of party affiliations, on the development front. So far, I did not speak to them on the MMC election,” he said.
