Special Correspondent
Panaji
Stressing the need to deliberate on strengthening the Zilla Panchayat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
on Friday said the body
has struggled to make an impact because of Goa’s small geographical size and limited electorate in each constituency.
“This scenario has resulted in overlapping of the powers of the legislative assembly, Zilla Panchayat and village panchayats, in turn attracting arguments about the seniority of MLAs, Zilla Panchayat members and sarpanch/panch members,” said BJP state president Damodar ‘Damu’ Naik at a joint press conference with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.
MGP president Pandurang ‘Deepak’ Dhavalikar said his party’s 6 per cent share in seat allotment under the alliance was not an issue. “In fact, the BJP has given us the seats demanded by our two MLAs,” he said, adding that both parties are working on a pre-poll alliance for the 2027 assembly election
as they share the same
ideology.
Dhavalikar said MGP leader Dr Ketan Bhatikar has resigned to field his own candidates for the ZP election. “The central committee of the MGP will accept his resignation in next 2-3 days,” he said.
The ZP polls are scheduled for December 20, with results on December 22.
Naik said the BJP is contesting 40 of 50 seats, supporting seven Independents, and allotting three seats to the MGP. “We will win by a thumping majority in both districts,” he said, adding that 80 per cent of alliance candidates are new faces. He said the party has sought explanations from Michael Lobo and Dilip Parulekar for corruption allegations made by them over the Birch fire incident.
He said the Arpora nightclub fire will not affect BJP’s prospects as the investigation is underway and the government is willing to take action against all responsible. He refused to name officials accountable for the fire. Naik said illegal nightclubs should be shut immediately, a stance supported by Dhavalikar.
