MGP to back Independent candidate in Mandrem assembly bypoll

The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party will support Independent candidate Jit Arolkar instead of Congress candidate Babi Baghkar in the Mandrem bypoll, MGP working president Narayan Sawant said Tuesday.

The MGP, Goa's oldest regional outfit, will however support the Congress for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state, he said.

"We will back Congress candidate Sudhir Kandolkar for the Mapusa Assemby bypoll. In Shiroda, our party president Deepak Dhavalikar is contesting," he said.

The MGP had faced a rebellion last month when two of its legislators broke away to join the BJP, while its MLA Sudin Dhavalikar, who was the deputy chief minister in the Goa government, was dropped from the cabinet by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

The MGP and BJP faced-off after the former decided to field Dhavalikar for the Shiroda bypoll against the BJP's Subhash Shirodkar.