Team Herald
PANJIM: A month-and-a-half after Manohar Parrikar, through some smart and swift politics got a BJP-led government formed with the support of coalition partners, he is now finding himself under increasing pressure to please the regional parties and Independents who hold the key in keeping BJP afloat for the next five years.
Allies Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), and two Independents who joined BJP to form the government, have not let slip any chance to reap dividends in exchange for their support to the BJP. Be it getting hold of crucial and important portfolios like PWD, TCP, Revenue, Tourism, Transport, or Corporations like GSIDC, the alliance members currently have the wherewithal to ask for more in the Parrikar government.
Besides, Parrikar has himself gone out of the way to “please” his coalition partners, an instance being his 2017-18 Budget that saw a whopping rise of 40 percent in the allocation to PWD headed by MGP’s Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar, a Master Plan for Porvorim constituency represented by Minister Rohan Khaunte, clearing the decade-old Sonsoddo garbage dump that is a priority of GFP MLA and Minister Vijai Sardesai.
“We are aware that it is not a BJP government and we are running a coalition. But, coalition pressures have come quite early on in our tenure. Undoubtedly the Chief Minister is making efforts to keep them happy, but this has not amde party cadres and elected members too happy” a senior BJP member said.
GFP: Eyeing PDAs
GFP with three MLAs got hold of prime portfolios is now eyeing chairmanships of some Planning and Development Authorities (PDAs). Though, the party is not very keen on the North Goa PDA, which may go to BJP, Sardesai wants to keep South PDA and Mormugao PDA in his grip.
MGP: Infrastructure bosses
MGP, on the other hand, has managed to get all that it had its eyes on. With two Ministers in the cabinet, the party holds key positions – Dhavalikar (PWD, Transport) and Manohar Azgaonkar (Tourism, Sports). Their third MLA – first timer Deepak Pawaskar – has been appointed Chairman of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC), the agency which was with BJP in the last term.
Independent-ly happy
Also Independents like Rohan Khaunte (Revenue, IT) and Govind Gawade (Art and Culture) have got their share. Khaunte is apparently learnt to be making moves to get hold of Goa Electronics Limited (GEL) also.
Former Deputy Chief Minister and now Minister for Urban Development Francis D’Souza is amongst the few, who has expressed his apprehension over the way Parrikar is going all out to please the coalition members, sidelining BJP MLAs who have managed to retain their seats.
MLAs like Milind Naik, Michael Lobo, Alina Saldanha are not very happy the way BJP is functioning under pressure. Naik, who was Minister in the earlier tenure, is currently left without any position, while Saldanha, another former Minister, has been virtually demoted as Chairperson of Goa Rehabilitation Board. Lobo, who played a crucial role to bring Goa Forward to the alliance, was a strong contender for a ministerial berth. However, the second term MLA was elected as Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.
Interestingly, the latest bone of contention is the beach cleaning contract wherein Azgaonkar wants his department to retain the contract management, despite the CM having announced that it would be handled by the Solid Waste Management Corporation.
It is also learnt that Parrikar’s assurance to coalition partners to withdraw the amendment to the Trees Act and review the Investment Promotion & Facilitation Board (IPFB) approvals to investment proposals, have not gone down well with BJP leaders – former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and former Minister Rajendra Arlekar. But here the Chief Minister has taken the right call on the Tree Act and IPFB
It was during their tenure that the government had introduced the amendment to the Tree Preservation Act, declassifying coconut as palm, amidst strong opposition. It was also Parsekar, who as chairman of the then called IPB, had approved nearly 126 projects.
Quite clearly, the ‘dil manage more’ tune of the allies is a little discordant with Parrikar, but he doesn’t have the option to block or switch it off. So he’s doing the next best thing – adjust to the new tune.
