With the whirlpool of political activities gripping Goa, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) is emerging as an important player for many who would like to bet on the political future of the State on this party. BBSM has already extended its hand to MGP, setting a deadline of September 30 to decide as the manch feels that the Dhavalikar brothers-led party is closer to their heart and issues.
Similarly, United Bahujan Samaj has also appealed to the party to sever ties with BJP.
All eyes are now on the Dhavalikar brothers, whether they will be able to break their five-year long association with the saffron party, or if Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will be able to strengthen the alliance between BJP and MGP. The crucial meeting for discussions on this issue is scheduled for September 22 which will be attended by Parrikar and Nitin Gadkari.
The manch, while announcing its decision to float a political outfit, said that it will go alone in 35 seats in case MGP does not join hands with them.
Perfect setting for MGP?
But the setting could not have been more perfect for the MGP, oldest regional party of Goa, in the current crisis between the RSS (BBSM) and the BJP. While the MGP has stated it would go along with BJP, it has not said no to BBSM offer. But this is simply a ploy to bargain with BJP for extra seats.
The MGP’s Sudin Dhavalikar, the quiet wily political fox, says the party will fight the polls with the BJP though it supports the BBSM on its stand. He adds that the government has resolved the medium of instruction issue by announcing a scheme to give Rs 400 per month to every student in government aided Konkani and Marathi medium primary schools. Yet he does not commit on the alliance even though he says that it is a low hanging fruit.
“The decision on alliance with BJP is yet to be decided upon. We will wait till Nitin Gadkariji is in Goa later this month but we also support the BBSM stand on grants,” he said.
At the same time the MGP, is playing the BBSM too. Speaking to Herald, MGP President Deepak Dhavalikar said his party is ready to support BBSM but they should also support Marathi to get status of official language.
“People have faith in MGP and this party has always worked for the development of the state and all the communities. We have supported all parties to form the government for the welfare of the State,” Dhavalikar said.
MGP has always been demanding for 14 seats with BJP as a part of a pre-poll alliance but would be satisfied with 12. “We have identified 12 seats which we are firm on contesting. This isn’t the final figure we have in mind but we have had cordial discussions so far,” MGP’s General Secretary Lavoo Mamledar told Herald.
MGP is also BJP’s main hope
While the situation is perfect for MGP to bargain, the BJP is looking at its alliance partner with hope when the odds are against the saffron brigade.
“The BJP under the current scene has no choice rather than accepting demands of MGP of 12-14 seats and key constituencies of Dabolim, Bicholim, Cumbharjua and probably Shiroda,” said sources in the BJP.
Sources also reveal that the BJP is in the know that Sudin Dhavalikar shares healthy relations with everyone across the political spectrum and can ally with any other formation in a post poll scenario, if there is no pre poll alliance with BJP.
The bone of contention
The source of friction is the BJP government’s failure to keep a promise made in the 2012 election: to stop government grants to English-medium primary schools in the interest of promoting Indian language-medium schools, mainly Konkani and Marathi.
The Digambar Kamat led Congress government in 2011 announced financial support for around 130 English-medium primary schools in the state. In 2011-12, there were 135 Konkani-medium, 40 Marathi-medium and two Urdu-medium primary schools that got grants from the government.
Velingkar, along with former chief minister Shashikala Kakodkar, ex-bureaucrat Arvind Bhatikar, writer Pundalik Naik and former legislator Uday Bhembre, among others, formed the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) to protest the grant for English medium schools and helped the BJP win the 2012 polls after the party promised to reverse the Congress government’s decision once it came to power.
But neither Manohar Parrikar, who was Chief Minister till late 2014 when he was made the Union Defence Minister, nor his successor and the incumbent, Laxmikant Parsekar, did it, fearing a backlash from the Church, which can influence Catholic voters, since stopping the grants would affect the schools run by the Archdiocesan Board of Education.
