Team Herald
Panjim: In a world where political allegiances often shift and former friends become rivals, the longstanding friendship between Power Minister Ramakrishna 'Sudin' Dhavalikar and the late former MLA Lavoo Mamledar remained steadfast, despite their political differences over the years.
Paying his final respects to Mamledar at Ponda on Sunday, Dhavalikar, visibly emotional, reflected on the decades-long friendship he shared with the late leader, recalling their childhood and college days together. “Lavoo was not just my childhood friend at Almeida High School in Ponda, but also my companion during college. After securing his degree in BSc, Lavoo worked briefly as a teacher before joining the Goa Police Department as a Sub-Inspector in 1981. He later rose to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police,” Dhavalikar reminisced.
Dhavalikar also highlighted how Mamledar, at his personal request, left his secure career in the police service to enter politics. "In 2007, for the sake of our friendship, Lavoo resigned from his position as DySP and contested against former Chief Minister Ravi Naik in Ponda on the MGP symbol, though he did not win," Dhavalikar said. However, in a turn of political fate, Mamledar emerged victorious in the 2012 elections, defeating Naik and becoming a major political force.
Despite facing tensions with some leaders within the MGP, Mamledar stood by his friend Dhavalikar, never seeking a ministerial position, even as both Dhavalikar brothers were sworn in as ministers. Dhavalikar mentioned that although there were allegations from certain sections of society, particularly about Mamledar not being offered a ministerial post despite his Bahujan Samaj background, Mamledar always insisted that he was never interested in such roles and did not want them to affect their personal bond.
However, after Mamledar lost the 2017 elections to Ravi Naik, political differences began to surface. Mamledar eventually left the MGP and joined other political parties. Despite this, Dhavalikar emphasized that their personal friendship remained intact until the end.
The political divide between the two became more evident when Mamledar quit the Trinamool Congress (TMC) following its alliance with the MGP. Mamledar also contested the 2019 by-election, campaigning against Sudin's younger brother, Deepak Dhavalikar, and later challenged his expulsion from the MGP. In 2022, Mamledar unsuccessfully contested against Sudin Dhavalikar in his stronghold of Marcaim constituency.
Though their paths diverged politically, Dhavalikar made it clear that his friendship with Mamledar transcended the political arena, remembering him as a true friend until the
very end.