No alliance with MGP at least during current tenure: Sawant

The ruling BJP in Goa will not have any alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) at least for the remaining tenure of the party-led government in the state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said.

The MGP, Goa's oldest regional party, had won three seats in the 2017 assembly polls and later joined the BJP-led ruling coalition.

The MGP suffered a jolt when two of its MLAs joined the BJP in March, soon after Sawant took charge, ending the alliance between the two parties.

Talking to PTI Thursday, Sawant said the MGP supporting the Congress during the last month's Lok Sabha elections in Goa will not have any adverse impact on the BJP's prospects.

Voting for the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa, where the BJP and the Congress were the main rivals, was held on April 23.

Sawant said the BJP will not have any truck with the MGP for the remaining tenure of his government.

The BJP chief minister said his party-led ruling coalition is working smoothly with support of the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and three Independent MLAs who are part of the government.

Asked whether it is a big no from the BJP's side to the MGP for an alliances in the future, Sawant said he cannot, at this moment, say anything about the future.

"I don't feel that MGP, going with the Congress for the recently held elections, will impact us in anyway. They (MGP) are a regional party. MGP votes always get diverted towards the BJP, they will never go to the Congress," he said.

Sawant said his government is destined to complete its full tenure (which will end in 2022) without any difficulty.

"We are firm with our alliance partners and we have full faith in them," the chief Minister said.