Team Herald
PANJIM: Hours after stating that Shiv Sena would have had its Chief Minister in Goa, if it had not helped BJP and MGP who were perceived as parties with a Hindutva ideology to grow, the saffron party joined hands with RSS rebel leader Subhash Velingkar’s backed Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) to contest the forthcoming 2017 State Assembly polls.
Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday held an hour-long meeting with GSM leaders, including its President Anand Shirodkar and Velingkar. Both the parties have agreed to align for the elections, while the decision on seat sharing will be taken at later stage.
Emerging from the meeting with Thackeray and Velingkar jointly addressed media persons and announced the alliance.
“In principle we have decided to fight the elections in alliance. Our ideologies meet. It will be a seat sharing agreement. The details of seat sharing will be discussed later,” the Shiv Sena chief said adding that the political battle is to preserve the culture and language.
Both parties will contest all 40 seats with each getting 20 seats. “Shiva Sena had distanced itself from State politics during the 2012 elections as it felt that BJP and MGP, sharing Hindutava ideology, will rule the State in a better way. But over the years, we felt that it was our biggest mistake,” Thackeray said earlier while kicking off the election campaign in the presence of party workers.
He said the Sena would have had its Chief Minister in Goa, if it had not to rely on BJP and MGP who were perceived as parties with Hindutva ideology. “We will contest Goa polls and will ensure that Sena becomes the ultimate deciding power for the formation of next government,” he said.
Thackeray said that MoI is an issue the government is trying to play politics with. “Marathi is our mother while Konkani also shares a blood relation. We need to work to protect it,” he said.
Later, after the meeting, Velingkar said, “Our aim is not to defeat BJP but to fight for our demand to protect and grant status to our language. BJP completely betrayed the people on the issue of MoI. We are sure of winning several seats considering the response received during our visits.”
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BJP govt worse than Portuguese rule: Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut termed the Laxmikant Parsekar government as “worse than the Portuguese government”. “The current BJP led government in Goa is worse than Portuguese government. We are here to throw this government out in the 2017 State Legislative Assembly elections,” Raut said addressing workers’ convention. He said the party will contest on 20 seats and will aim to win at least two-three seats. Raut said the Sena is not in Goa as a tourist but to give good governance to the people.
