Goa polls: BJP confident of getting MGP's support, says Fadnavis

A day before the Goa Assembly poll results are to be declared, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said his party is confident of getting the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) as both the parties are "ideologically aligned".

Talking to reporters outside a luxury hotel here, the BJP's Goa election in-charge also said that although his party will get absolute majority in the coastal state, it will take all like-minded forces along.

Notably, the relations between the BJP and the MGP had soured in 2019, when two MGP ministers were dropped from the state cabinet led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly were held on February 14 and the results will be declared on Thursday. Most exit polls have predicted a hung House in the tiny coastal state, leading the political parties to formulate their strategies keeping in mind different post-result scenarios.

The BJP had contested all the seats on its own, while the MGP fought the election by joining hands with the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The ruling BJP is seeking a third straight term in power, while the opposition Congress is hoping for a clear mandate in its favour to avoid the fiasco of 2017.

The BJP on Wednesday held a meeting of its candidates in the hotel, which was attended by several leaders, including Fadnavis, party's Goa desk in-charge C T Ravi, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and party's state unit president Sadanand Shet Tanavade.

"The party has been in talks with like-minded forces to align after the results tomorrow. The BJP will get absolute majority. But even after getting absolute majority, the BJP will take along all those people with whom the party is in talks," Fadnavis said.

The former Maharashtra chief minister said that he is confident that the MGP will join hands with the BJP.

When pointed out that MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar has held meetings with Congress leaders like P Chidambaram, Fadnavis said that there is nothing wrong in political party like MGP to hold meetings with others.

"But we are confident that MGP will come with us because we are ideologically aligned with each other," he said.

Fadnavis said that the Congress does not have faith in its own leaders. "That is why, it has kept them all in a starred hotel. We won't require anyone from Congress as we will get majority," he said.

The simple majority mark in the 40-member House is 21.

In the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 17 seats. But, the BJP, which had bagged 13 seats, quickly tied-up with the Deepak Dhavalikar-led MGP (Goa's oldest regional outfit), the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and independents to form government headed by Manohar Parrikar.

In 2019, when Sawant became the CM after Parrikar's demise, two MGP ministers were dropped from the state cabinet.

Last week, MGP's Sudin Dhavalikar had said his party will decide its stand after the Goa election results by taking the TMC into confidence, but will "never support" Pramod Sawant as chief minister. Sawant had sacked MGP ministers from his cabinet, he said, but did not categorically rule out supporting the BJP again.

On Tuesday, CM Sawant had said the central BJP leadership was already in talks with the MGP to seek its support, if the saffron outfit falls short of a few numbers to form government.