TEAM HERALD
PONDA: Three members from Tiverem-Orgao Panchayat on Monday joined MGP after reportedly resigning from the primary membership of the BJP.
With the resignation of the three members, the BJP is now left with just one BJP-backed member in the nine-member panchayat.
The three panchas who joined the MGP are Jyotsna Shirodkar, Umesh Bhosle and Umedha Khanolkar. Former sarpanch Pratap Volvoikar is the lone BJP-supported panch.
It may be recalled that a year ago when the new panchayat was formed, the BJP had the backing of six members and both the posts of sarpanch and the deputy were occupied by the BJP-supported candidates. However, recently Deputy Sarpanch Jyotsna Shirodkar and later Sarpanch Pratap Volvoikar resigned paving way for the MGP-supported candidates.
According to information, Sarpanch Francis Lobo prior to becoming sarpanch was a BJP member and soon after he joined the MGP, he was elevated to the sarpanch’s post.
“I have seen the pace of development during the one year when we had a BJP-supported sarpanch. I resigned from the BJP and joined MGP only with an agenda, development,” Lobo told Herald.
However, this has not gone well with senior BJP functionaries.
“BJP and MGP fought the assembly polls jointly. What is happening today is against the coalition dharma. If such things continue, then who will work for the coalition partners in the future,” asked former BJP Priol MLA Adv Vishwas Satarkar.
“However, the panchas who joined MGP are not originally from the BJP but had contested against the candidates fielded by the MGP,” he added.
