Panaji: Two former rivals in North Goa's coastal Mandrem constituency have buried a bitter feud to take on the sitting MLA, setting up a fresh confrontation between the BJP and its alliance partner, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, ahead of the 2027 assembly election.
Former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who represented Mandrem for three straight terms, quit the BJP in 2022 after the party fielded Dayanand Sopte from the seat. Both contested and lost to Jit Arolkar of the MGP. This time Parsekar and Sopte have united against Arolkar.
"I leave the decision to the party," Parsekar said, referring to whether he will seek a ticket.
Arolkar, the MGP legislator, was unruffled. "We are in an alliance with the BJP and intend to fight the elections together," he said, adding that he would contest on an MGP ticket.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant pushed back, telling a local channel that the MGP should "understand its limitations". He noted the party had won only two seats and that its 2022 tie-up with the Trinamool Congress had failed.
MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar hit back, saying his party has "at least 3,000 votes in each constituency". He said the MGP had conducted a survey showing it was dominant in Marcaim, Pernem and Bicholim, but insisted seat-sharing talks would be settled with the BJP's national leadership.
BJP state president Damodar Naik played down the tension, saying relations between the allies were on track and that talk of a rift was speculation.
The MGP, Goa's oldest regional party, gave the state its first chief minister in 1963 and has been part of every ruling alliance since. The Mandrem tussle is one of several seat-sharing disputes expected as both the BJP and the Congress negotiate with regional partners for 2027.