Minister defends BJP-MGP alliance performance
PANAJI
Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar on Friday wasted little time in turning the Zilla Panchayat election results into political ammunition, firing salvos at former minister Govind Gaude and Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) general secretary Vishwesh Naik.
Gaude had accused Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) cadres of working against the BJP’s official nominee in Betki-Candola, where an independent triumphed despite the BJP-MGP alliance. MGP leader Dhavalikar dismissed the charge, insisting he had “no role in the matter.”
Yet he added pointedly that the MGP would “never stand with a person who has badmouthed the party,” rekindling a rivalry marked by repeated verbal clashes between the two leaders.
The minister then turned his guns on the RGP, predicting its trajectory would mirror the short-lived rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa.
“The RGP does not know what to do. They don’t have an agenda. They go wherever they are invited — Delhi, Mumbai or Khorlim — but they don’t know why they are going,” Dhavalikar said.
He accused the party of pursuing a “disruptive agenda” aimed at blocking projects, adding, “Their contribution to Goa is zero so far.”
RGP's Naik, who lost to the MGP candidate in Kavlem, hit back, claiming Dhavalikar feared the RGP’s growing base.
“Today we got 4,500 votes in Madkai constituency, and this is the vote of self-respecting Goans,” he said, framing the party’s performance as evidence of a grassroots surge.
