VASCO
It will be BJP vs BJP in Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) as two BJP-backed councillors have filed their nomination for the post of MMC vice chairperson.
Vinod Kinlekar from Dabolim constituency and Ramchandra Kamat from Mormugao constituency filed their nominations to the post of MMC vice chairperson and their fate will be decided at a special meeting on Tuesday morning.
Since the MMC is a BJP-backed council, it is come as a shock for many that two BJP-backed councillors have eyed the position and are set to compete against each other for the post.
While Vinod Kinlekar was elected as councillor under the panel of Panchayat’s Minister Mauvin Godinho, Ramchandra Kamat was elected as the councillor under the panel of former minster Milind Naik.
The 25 councillors, most of whom are backed by the BJP, will decide the new chairperson, it is suspected that the contest between two BJP councillors have exposed a divide in the BJP, especially when former chairperson Damodar Kaskar, MMC Chairperson Leo Rodrigues and outgoing Vice Chairperson Amay Chopdekar have been elected to the post on a pre-decided seat-sharing strategy.
MMC Vice Chairperson Amay Chopdekar had resigned from his post on April 5.
Sources in the MMC said Chopdekar had resigned on completion of his one-year tenure and the post would be offered to a new councillor from the BJP panel.
