No impact of INDIA bloc, BJP will win both seats of Goa: Shripad Naik

PANAJI: Claiming that the situation for the BJP is favorable and the INDIA bloc does not have any impact, Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik on Saturday said that his party will win both the seats of Goa in the Lok Sabha polls.

According to him, BJP has 28 MLAs and support of two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and three Independents, which would help them to win the seats easily.

"We could not win the South Goa seat last time as there was no support of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). This time MGP is with us and we have 33 MLAs, hence we will win both the seats. We have good response everywhere," Naik, senior leader of BJP, said.

MGP's MLA Sudin Dhavalikar was dropped from cabinet in the last term (2017 to 2022) of the BJP government after his two MLAs split from the regional party and joined the saffron party then.

This forced senior politician Sudin Dhavalikar to support Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha election, which helped grand old party's candidate Francisco Sardinha to win from South Goa by defeating BJP's then sitting Member of parliament Narendra Sawaikar.

After the results of 2022 assembly elections, even as the BJP enjoyed majority, MGP MLA Sudin Dhavalikar was accommodated in Pramod Sawant's cabinet.

Shripad Naik further said that development will be the main agenda of campaigning. "Issues like employment and others will be discussed at the government level," he said.

"INDIA bloc is dispersing in pace. It will not impact us. People have witnessed the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. People are with us and our workers are committed," Shripad Naik said.