The Hindu : Karnataka News : Congress tries to win back MGP’s support

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Sunday, Oct 28, 2007
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Karnataka

Congress tries to win back MGP’s support

Special Correspondent

Seeks withdrawal of petitions against two MGP MLAs

PANAJI: The latest move by the ruling Congress to seek the withdrawal of the pending disqualification petitions against the two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) is widely regarded as the Congress’s bid for rapprochement with the MGP.

It is to prevent potential threats to the party’s prospects in the ensuing byelection to the south Goa Parliamentary Constituency and eventually to its Government from its present ally, the two-member Save Goa Front (SGF) led by Churchill Alemao.

Ironically, Mr. Alemao is occupying the Ministerial berth which was vacated by Ramkrishna Dhavlikar, MGP MLA, ahead of the unsuccessful toppling bid against the Government in July. The political coup spearheaded by Mr. Alemao eventually proved suicidal for the unsuspecting MGP MLAs who joined it. They ended up with disqualification petitions which also led to withdrawal of their voting rights by an “ex parte ad interim order” of the Speaker.

Having failed to pressure the Congress into allotting party ticket to his daughter, Mr. Alemao is unhappy and has even gone public describing it as a “betrayal”.

Anxious to return to local politics, Mr. Alemao raked up some local issues and resigned as Congress MP of south Goa ahead of the June 2 Assembly election float his own party. Having succeeded in winning merely two seats, Mr. Alemao found himself marginalised in the local politics.

Using his political astuteness, he lured the BJP and other fringe groups to join him to make a strong bid to topple the Congress-led Government within two months of the election. But later he ended up joining the Government forcing the MGP out of the coalition.

Influence

While the south Goa Constituency has a major influence of Catholic voters, the Congress’s move of rapprochement is also guided by its desire to see this erstwhile ally back on its side in the poll when it faces the BJP in the Hindu-dominated areas of this constituency where Pradesh Congress president Francisco Sardinha is locked in a battle with Wilfred Mesquita of the BJP.

Ironically, the legal validity of the Congress’s move is facing a scrutiny from within. Former Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap and former Goa Law Minister Kashinath Zalmi, both erstwhile MGP leaders, are now in Congress and have taken a public stand that the Speaker has no right to allow withdrawal of petitions as it has become the property of the House.

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