Panaji: Former Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and his former rival Dayanand Sopte have set aside years of bitter political feud to unite against the MGP legislator Jit Arolkar and reclaim the Mandrem constituency, setting up an escalating row between the BJP and its alliance partner ahead of next year's election.
Mr. Parsekar, who represented the North Goa coastal constituency for three consecutive terms, left the BJP in 2022 after the party chose to field Mr. Sopte from the seat. Both contested and lost Mandrem to Mr. Arolkar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. Now the two have come together, with Mr. Parsekar saying, "I leave the decision to the party."
The tug-of-war over Mandrem is one among several seat-sharing disputes expected to play out as both the BJP and the Congress work through pre-poll negotiations with their regional partners. The BJP and the MGP have said they will contest the coming election in alliance.
MGP legislator Mr. Arolkar said he expected those in the BJP to work for the victory of the seat on behalf of the alliance. "I'm the MGP party legislator and will contest on an MGP ticket," he said. Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, a BJP leader, has backed Mr. Arolkar.
MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar played down the tussle, saying the party's survey showed it was "dominant" on three seats and that seat-sharing talks would be held with the BJP's national leadership. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant pushed back, saying the MGP should "understand its limitations" and join the BJP in an alliance, noting that the party could win only two seats in 2022. Mr. Dhavalikar responded that his party had "at least 3,000 votes in each constituency".
BJP State president Damodar Naik insisted relations between the two allies were on track, calling the talk speculation.