BJP MLA unfazed by challenge posed by Goa Forward chief
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat reaches out to constituents during BJP’s Viksit Sankalp Patra campaign.
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
Congress-turned-BJP Margao MLA Digambar Kamat seemed unfazed over Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai’s announcement to enter his home turf, as he kick-started his outreach programme in his constituency as part of BJP’s 'Viksit Sankalp Patra' to mark Narendra Modi’s completion of 11 years as the country’s Prime Minister.
With party men and son Yogiraj in tow, the seasoned seven-time Margao MLA went door-to-door and interacted with residents, distributing literature highlighting the Prime Minister’s achievements.
None other than Kamat knows better that the Sankalp Patra offers a platform to interact with citizens and voters, giving an opportunity to explain the PM’s achievements and, in return, keep him and the party in good stead—before he gets on the ground to drum up support for the BJP-backed candidates for the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) in the run-up to the civic polls due in early 2026.
When asked for a response to Sardesai’s public declaration to contest for control of the MMC, Kamat responded with characteristic calm, saying, “In a democratic set-up, any citizen is eligible to contest an election. What can I say if anyone wants to contest the municipal polls or field a candidate against me? I have nothing to say.”
He added, however, that it would ultimately be the people who decide the outcome. “It is the public who will determine the fate of any candidate,” he said.
Both Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai did not cross swords against each other in the last two civic polls for the Margao civic body held in 2015 and 2021. In fact, the duo had jointly fought the Margao civic polls, fielding candidates under the banner of the Margao Civic Alliance—an experiment which helped them reap huge electoral dividends, form the Margao Municipal Council, and keep the BJP at bay.
The alliance also helped the duo to secure the municipal seats from their respective home turfs—enough to cobble together the bare numbers to form the Council.
With Kamat now back in the BJP after severing all ties with the Congress on 14 September 2022, the duo are expected to cross swords against each other in the 2026 municipal polls for their very survival before the big battle due in 2027.
Sardesai has been left with no option but to enter Margao in the municipal polls to get the much-needed seats to form the Council. On the other hand, the seasoned Digambar is expected to go all out to protect his fort from crumbling in the municipal polls, knowing very well that any upset in the 2026 municipal polls will only embolden the opposition to take him head-on in the 2027 Assembly election.
