Congress courts Bhatikar as Ponda by-election looms

PANAJI
Congress State president Amit Patkar on Wednesday confirmed that former Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader Ketan Bhatikar has expressed his desire to join the Congress ahead of the upcoming assembly by-election in Ponda.
Patkar told reporters that Bhatikar met him earlier this week and conveyed his intention to align with the grand old party. “We will now put the proposal before our Ponda block committee, and a final decision will be taken by the central leadership soon,” Patkar said.
Bhatikar, who quit the MGP a couple of months ago, is a frontrunner among hopefuls for the Ponda constituency. In the 2022 assembly election, he lost by fewer than 100 votes to veteran politician Ravi Naik. Naik’s death in October last year left the seat vacant, and Bhatikar naturally emerged as a strong contender for the bypoll.
However, the MGP leadership, led by Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavlikar and his brother, complicated matters by suggesting that one of Naik’s sons should be fielded by the ruling coalition. The move effectively sidelined Bhatikar within the party he had represented, forcing him to reconsider his political future.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Bhatikar resigned from the MGP and began sending signals to the Congress. His entry into the party, if cleared by the leadership, could give the Congress a formidable candidate in Ponda, a constituency where he already enjoys significant local support.
The challenge before the Congress is how to accommodate their own Rajesh Verenkar, who also had a pretty strong showing at the 2022 outing, polling over 4,500 votes.
The development of the Congress cosying up to Bhatikar, however, comes at a crucial time, with the party working to rebuild itself from the setback of the defection of eight of its eleven winning MLAs to the BJP just six months after the 2022 poll.
With the Ponda by-election expected to be fiercely contested, Bhatikar’s potential candidature and performance could have a bearing on the State's political equations and climate.
For now, the ball lies in the Congress leadership’s court. A formal announcement is awaited, but Patkar’s statement has lent credence to the reports that Bhatikar will soon be wearing the Congress colours.