Team Herald
PANJIM: A day after sharing the dais with Congress State president Girish Chodankar, the MGP president Pandurang (Deepak) Dhavalikar has decided to withdraw support to the BJP-led coalition government in the State.
The decision comes a day after Dhavalikar announced support to the Congress. Interestingly former MGP office-bearer Lavoo Mamledar had questioned why MGP had still not withdrawn support to the government despite working against the coalition partner.
“We will teach BJP a lesson for splitting our party,” said an angry MPG president Dhavalikar. Goa will elect its two Lok Sabha candidates on April 23, as well as three MLAs in by-polls, he added.
The MGP decision comes as BJP encouraged the split in the regional party and welcomed two MGP MLAs into the BJP, leaving the regional party with just a single MLA in the Assembly.
With MGP withdrawing support, the coalition strength in the State Assembly is BJP 14, with three members from Goa Forward Party and three independents.
Following the death of Manohar Parrikar, the BJP selected Pramod Sawant to head the coalition. MGP’s Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar was made the deputy chief minister but was later dropped from the State cabinet. This, and the poaching of its MLAs, irked the MGP.
