Rebel Goa RSS leader Velingkar launches Goa Suraksha Manch

May soon reach pre-poll alliance with Shiv Sena to take on BJP in Goa assembly election

Finally former chief of  the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Goa unit, Subhash Velingkar, and his supporters on Sunday formed a new political party called Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM). It is expected to contest the Assembly election in the state slated to be held in 2017.

GSM will be the political outfit of the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), which is spearheading an agitation for the  promotion of Konkani and Marathi in schools and the withdrawal of grants to English medium schools. Velingkar will not hold any post or contest the polls.

GSM will be headed by Anand Shirodkar, while Swati Kerkar and Kiran Nayak have been appointed vice-presidents.

GSM is expected to enter into a formal pre-poll alliance  with Shiv Sena to jointly take on the ruling  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  Velingkar and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut recently held preliminary discussions in this regard.

Raut last week proposed to field Shiva Sena nominees in  20 seats  and expects GSM to contest the reamining seats in the 40-member Assembly. However, GSM the parties are expected to make a formal announcement after party chief Uddhav Thackeray's Goa visit.

Velingkar decided to float GSM on Sunday on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary without waiting for BJP's ruling  Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party's (MGP) response to an alliance proposal. "We can't wait till October end for MGP. If it agrees at a later stage, we can think of a seat-sharing agreement,'' Velingkar had said on Friday.

MGP has announced to continue its alliance with BJP.

The RSS had recently relieved Velingkar, who has now formed a parallel outfit called RSS Goa Prant.

Velingkar proposes to reach out to voters on issues such as discontinuation of casinos, the drug menace, corruption during the BJP’s rule, dual citizenship and BJP's proposal to revive Portugese festivals.