Panaji
Senior leader and Goa Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, associated with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), expressed confidence in the BJP’s victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha election in South Goa. Dhavalikar highlighted the leadership crisis within the Congress in the state and asserted that the saffron party would secure a decisive win. Dhavalikar, who had supported Congress in the last Lok Sabha election, mentioned that the BJP candidate narrowly lost the previous election but is poised to win convincingly this time. He attributed the Congress’ lack of prospects in Goa to its leadership crisis, emphasizing the impact of the defection of eight Congress MLAs to the BJP last year. The Power Minister, who was a minister in the Congress-led governments in the past, stated that the BJP candidate’s defeat in the previous election was well-known but expected a substantial victory in the upcoming polls. Dhavalikar also noted that the support of Congress turncoat MLAs would contribute to the BJP’s success in securing votes. Dhavalikar, formerly associated with the MGP, joined hands with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) before the 2022 Assembly elections. However, the TMC failed to secure any seats in the coastal state. Despite previous differences, Dhavalikar was accommodated in the cabinet of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 2022 assembly elections. The senior politician had previously announced his non-support for the BJP before the assembly election results, but after the BJP’s victory, he declared unconditional support from his party’s two MLAs to help form a stable government.
