Panaji: Former Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and his one-time rival Dayanand Sopte have set aside a bitter feud to reclaim Mandrem, setting up an escalating row between the BJP and its ally, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), ahead of next year's election.
Parsekar represented the North Goa coastal seat for three consecutive terms. He left the BJP in 2022 after the party chose Sopte, and both lost to the MGP's Jit Arolkar. Now the two have united against Arolkar. "I leave the decision to the party," Parsekar said.
MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar played down the tussle, saying a party survey showed it was "dominant" on three seats — Marcaim, Pernem and Bicholim. Mandrem was not on that list. He said the alliance would continue, but the party had not decided which seats to claim.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant pushed back, saying the MGP should "understand its limitations". "MGP is our partner in the NDA even though they weren't with us during the 2022 assembly elections and went along with the TMC. It didn't work out for them and they could win only two seats," Sawant told a local television channel.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party gave Goa its first chief minister in 1963. Its influence waned in later decades, but it has remained part of every ruling alliance. This could be the first pre-poll alliance between the BJP and the MGP since 2012.
Dhavalikar hit back, saying his party has "at least 3,000 votes in each constituency". BJP state president Damodar Naik insisted relations between the allies were on track. "The right decision will be taken at the right time. Everything is just speculation at the moment," he said.