Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) president Dipak Dhavalikar Thursday said he would be contesting the forthcoming byelection to the Shiroda Assembly seat in Goa.
Dhavalikar, whose party is an ally of the ruling BJP in Goa, claimed that the alliance government led by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has "not done injustice" to the MGP, but did not elaborate.
The date for the byelection to the Shiroda constituency in North Goa district has not yet been announced by the Election Commission.
After launching the campaign in the constituency on Thursday, Dhavalikar said he would be contesting the Shiroda bypoll.
"There is no problem in the Parrikar-led alliance. Our three MLAs are part of the coalition government. But, for the Shiroda bypoll, the MGP will be fielding its own candidate," he told reporters after visiting two temples in the constituency.
The bypoll was necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Subhash Shirodkar resigned as an MLA and also quit the party to join the BJP in October last year.
When contacted, senior MGP leader and state Transport Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, who is also the elder brother of Dipak Dhavalikar, said the party's decision would be binding on him.
"I am a loyal soldier of the party. Whatever decision the party takes, it would be binding on me," he added.
BJP Goa unit president Vinay Tendulkar was not available for his comments on the matter.
Another senior BJP leader, however, said it was too early to react to MGP's move.
"The election is yet to be announced. So we won't like to react right now," he said.
The MGP, which has three MLAs in the Goa Assembly, is an alliance partner in the Parrikar-led government.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
