MARGAO
Will the rotation of the Margao Municipal Council chairperson’s post turn out a smooth affair or will a third group spring a surprise to the main players “ Congress MLA Digambar Kamat, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai and BJP leader Damu Naik.
With a month to go for incumbent Margao Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira to step down from office, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat on Saturday said he and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai will sit and take a decision how to go about in the election of the new chairperson.
When the media pointed out that the MMC Chairperson Pereira’s term of 15 months is ending next month, Kamat reminded that he and his Fatorda counterpart had agreed on certain things in the MMC. “I and Vijai will sit and take a decision. We had agreed on certain things. When the time comes, we will take the decision,” Kamat said.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai on the other hand, said there’s still a month to go and a decision will be taken in due course of time. “We will go by our word,” was how Sardesai reacted when asked how they would go about zeroing in on Lyndon’s successor.
The post of Margao Municipal Chairperson has come in for sharp focus and has thrown up questions against the backdrop of intervening circumstances, wherein the Goa Forward chief had gone public to complain of trust deficit vis-Ã -vis the Margao Civic Alliance propped up by him and the Margao MLA. The latest political developments have also cast a shadow on the MCA with sources in the know saying the Fatorda MLA is not in favour of the Margao Municipality going the Municipal way.
As per the agreement entered between Kamat and Vijai, the chairperson’s post will be rotated after every 15 months. Since the Goa Forward’s candidate Lyndon Pereira enjoyed the privilege to preside over the post in lieu of the fact that the party won more seats in the 2021 civic polls compared to Kamat’s group, Pereira is now required to step down from office as the agreement after completing 15 months in office and pave way for the candidate from the Kamat-backed group to take over the reigns.
Even as the Kamat-Vijai duo is expected to meet soon to decide on the chairperson’s post, former Margao Municipal Chairperson Ganashyam Shirodkar is perceived as a strong candidate for the post as and when it falls vacant. Sources said all eyes are focused on Ganashyam, who was initially elected on the Kamat’s panel, but later walked out of the group over the post last year, how he goes about mobilising support for his candidature.
