SURAJ NANDREKAR/
SANTOSH NAIK
PANJIM/PONDA: They may be alliance partners in the State government but are bitter rivals when it comes to Ponda constituency.
Yes, we are talking about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). The two parties share a bitter-sweet relationship in Ponda, which even led to both parties snapping ties prior to 2017 Assembly elections.
PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, who is rumoured to be the successor for Manohar Parrikar as Chief Minister, shares “good” relations with BJP’s top leaders and is clear about his intentions for Ponda.
“We (MGP) will contest in 15 wards. I am confident that this time people will vote for us. There is no development in Ponda for the last five years because of the (inefficiency by) Ponda Municipal Council. (Some) Those who were with us unfortunately resigned and went to another group. There is no development in Ponda. However, I would like to bring to the notice of the people and it is my duty to solve all civic issues be it traffic, sewage, etc,” he said.
He said, “It has hurt me (referring to happenings in the last civil election). The past mistake we have accepted. We will not do the same mistake again.”
“We have been ditched by four elected representatives in the Ponda Municipal Council,” he added.
Dhavalikar says the party will contest under the banner ‘Rising Ponda’ and ruled out that civic elections will impact alliance in the state government.
Moreover, the MGP leaders from Ponda and around feel that the BJP is even hobnobbing with the Congress to ensure the defeat of MGP in Ponda.
The 2013 Ponda municipal election saw the alliance between MGP and BJP after their thumping win in 2012 Assembly polls, by defeating Congress hands down.
But the honeymoon lasted for just a year and slowly differences between MGP MLA Lavoo Mamledar and the BJP-backed ruling council led by chairperson Radhika Naik started showing up.
The next four years were just a free-for-all between the two parties in Ponda.
Both parties, which united to defeat Congress, ended fighting each other. This could now help Congress to come to power in Ponda again.
The fracas started in 2014, when there was war between Ponda market vendors and PMC over four-fold hike in market sopo.
In this agitation, MGP MLA Lavoo Mamledar criticised the alliance for hiking sopo tax by four-fold saying it will burden vendors and levelled corruption charges and demanded a vigilance inquiry.
Thereafter, there were arguments on Kranti Maidan renovation work and later on the laying of sewerage network in Ponda with the MLA alleging BJP was halting his development Project.
By this time, Manohar Parrikar was already in Delhi as Defence Minister and there were simmering differences between the MGP top leadership and the then Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on power sharing, recruitment of jobs etc.
This allowed Ponda MLA Lavoo Mamledar to take on the BJP leadership head-on.
On the other hand, BJP too accused Mamledar of instigating the Ponda market vendors on sopo issue. Chairperson Radhika Naik and other councillors including BJP block president accused former MLA Lavoo Mamledar of on one hand deriving power benefits and on the other hand bringing obstacles in the development work.
MGP leader Deepak Dhavalikar, who is campaigning for the election for civic polls under the banner “Rising Ponda”, criticised the BJP Council for halting the development work such as Kranti Maidan renovation work and the sewerage treatment plant for Ponda.
He said the BJP, which benefited from the alliance with MGP, failed to bring about development in Ponda.
BJP leader Sunil Desai, who is a sitting councillor, rejected the MGP president’s charges that BJP halted and delayed development.
”Our council never opposed MGP’s development work. We objected to sewerage and Kranti Maidan renovation work as we were never taken into confidence before commencement of this work. Besides this, the locals were also not consulted on STP in municipal area,” he added.
