MARGAO: In a setback to freshly minted BJP MLA Digambar Kamat, and the BJP in general, GFP-backed independent councillor Ghanashyam Shirodkar was elected the new Chairperson of the Margao Municipal Council.
With 15 votes, he defeated Damodar Shirodkar, the councillor backed by Kamat, polled only 10 votes in the secret ballot on Friday.
The loss was especially hard, as CM Pramod Sawant and several other senior leaders of the BJP had prior to the election, confidently claimed the support of the 15 councillors of the Kamat and BJP camps within the MMC. Sawant had met all the 15 councillors in a last-minute rendezvous late on the eve of the election.
The CM instructed them to vote for Digambar Kamat-backed Damodar Shirodkar. Six of them obviously played no heed.
After Ganashyam Shirodkar’s victory was cemented, with a comfortable margin, Vijai Sardesai rushed to the Municipality to wish and accompany him and their allies to Margao’s Pimpal Katta to seek blessings from God.
Eight councillors from the GFP camp stayed united and voted for Ganashayam Shirodkar while six from the Kamat-BJP camp voted against their official candidate Damodar Shirodkar. Out of the six, Sunita Paradkar from the BJP camp rebelled and openly voiced her support and voted for Ganashyam.
However, it was Vijai Sardesai who played spoilsport for Kamat’s candidate, and succeeded in getting the independent candidate elected, making a statement against the Margao MLA’s defection to the BJP.
Taking a dig at Kamat’s ‘prasad-from God’ statement justifying his defection on Wednesday, Ganashyam said, “Today, a true ‘Prasad’ has been given, and I managed to get elected as Chairperson of this civic body after almost 12 years. I, along with Sardesai and the other councillors, have prayed to God asking for strength to work for the betterment of Margao and Fatorda.”
He also claimed that he was expecting the support of at least 20 councillors.
“The impact of the CM’s late-night directive to the BJP councillors has been reflected in the election- they have lost five councillors. I consider this day as a historic day in the Municipality,” he added.
He said his priority as chairperson would be resolving the long-pending issue of the Sonsoddo legacy dump, putting the administration of the civic body in place, and implementing the parking project.
Earlier, the election started in the presence of Election Observer Shrinet Kothavle and Chief Officer Jayant Tari in the hall of the Margao Municipality. All councillors entering the hall were asked to leave their mobile phones behind, in a closed envelope.
The third candidate, BJP councillor Sadanand Naik who had filed his nomination on Thursday, withdrew it before the election, leaving Ganashyam and Damodar in the race for the chairperson post.
