PANAJI: The two-time Independent MLA from Porvorim, Rohan Khaunte, on Wednesday resigned as an MLA. He will join BJP on Friday in the presence of the party’s Goa election in charge Devendra Fadnavis.
TOI was the first to report in its Wednesday edition that Khaunte will soon join BJP.
Khaunte will be the third MLA, and second from Bardez taluka, to join BJP in a fortnight. Earlier, Saligao’s Goa Forward Party MLA Jayesh Salgaonkar and Congress’s Ponda MLA Ravi Naik quit and joined BJP.
With the resignation of Khaunte, the strength of 40-member House has been reduced to 36 MLAs.
Khaunte said he was resigning as an MLA of Porvorim in the larger interest of the people of Porvorim and the state. “Politics has been changing drastically in Goa. For instance, a political party comes to Goa and says Khell Zatlo. I don’t think Goa is a toy store and I don’t think we are toys and I will let Goans become any toys. For this, we need to take strong steps in the interest of Goa,” Khaunte said, taking a dig at TMC.
Khaunte, who had briefly flirted with Congress before finally moving towards the BJP fold, said: “We know what Congress and other political parties are doing and with the coming of new parties in Goa, political scenario is changing.”
But BJP’s North Goa district president Mahanand Asnodkar and Porvorim mandal strongly opposed his entry into the party at meeting convened by party state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and organising secretary Satish Dhond to inform them about the decision to induct Khaunte into BJP.
Asnodkar said Khaunte joining BJP will have an adverse impact on the party’s prospects in the upcoming election not only in Porvorim but the entire state. “We don’t do caste politics but the entry of Khaunte will have severe impact on Bahujan community,” he said, hinting at Khaunte’s upper caste status.
“Many of our workers have been working for the party for many decades. Khaunte has even called chief minster Pramod Sawant Pappu. Will the same Khaunte now work under Sawant?” he asked.
“Khaunte must have got a washing machine from outside the country to clean himself before joining BJP,” he said.
Asnodkar also alleged that Khaunte has harassed BJP workers and it would be difficult for them to work for him. “I have full faith in BJP karyakartas that they will not only vote against Khaunte but also convince others not to vote for him to defeat him,” he said.
Asnodkar said senior state BJP functionaries understand their issues, but they claim that they have pressure from the “top”. “All party workers were told to provide a candidate from within the party and they will work towards getting him elected. There can be more than one aspirant, but Khaunte is not from our party,” Asnodkar said.
