Do not want elections in Goa before March 2017: Laxmikant Parsekar

The Goa CM, whose tenure ends in March 2017, also said that the party would like to continue its alliance with MGP during the elections

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar is not in favour of early state Assembly polls and wishes to continue the alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) during the elections.

"Our tenure ends in March (2017), so we want elections in the beginning of that month (March)," Parsekar said yesterday after arriving from New Delhi where he had a meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah.

"We don't want elections before that. We have informed the party president about our stand," the chief minister said.

The five-year-long tenure of the BJP-led state government ends in March 2017. The party had rode to majority in the 2012 elections which they fought in an alliance with MGP.

"We always wanted to maintain and continue our alliance with MGP. Few MGP members were expressing their reluctance towards this. BJP never said about breaking their ties with MGP," Parsekar said.

MGP had last month expressed discomfort in giving an assurance for a tie-up for the 2017 elections. Its president Dipak Dhavalikar had said his party workers were not happy with BJP's attitude towards them.

MGP was an ally of Congress in the Digambar Kamat government from 2005 to 2012, but later joined hands with BJP.