Panaji: The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is presently in a dilemma as regards its possible alliance with the other political parties including the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, for the 2022 state assembly elections.

State BJP president Sadanand Tanawade on June 17 had stated that his party would possibly have no alliance with any political party during the forthcoming assembly polls in the state, and would contest the election on its own. He had further said that the BJP is at present strengthening its organisation in all 40 electoral constituencies.

Tanawade, a day later told ‘The Navhind Times’ that there is still time to decide on the alliances for the particular election and the said decision would be taken only at the right time. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik on Friday said BJP can explore the option of forging an alliance with the MGP for the forthcoming assembly elections. “I don’t think there is any harm in doing so,” he observed.

Incidentally, senior leader of MGP Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar had told this daily that his party is not interested in joining hands with any national party, as the national parties have caused irreparable damage to Goa.

The political history of Goa points out that the BJP-MGP alliance has always been favourable for the BJP. In 1994, the alliance between these parties led the BJP MLAs into the Goa legislative assembly for the first time, while the BJP-MGP coalition during the 2012 assembly polls helped the BJP to gain majority in the House.

However, the subsequent rift between the BJP and the MGP had resulted in the MGP ministers being sacked from the BJP government in January 2017, just before the state went for assembly polls. After these polls, the BJP, however, had to join hands with the MGP and form the government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar.

Interestingly, when Pramod Sawant government came to power in 2019 after the demise of Parrikar, two of the MGP MLAs were poached by the BJP and the third MGP MLA – Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar – was dropped from the cabinet.