MGP candidate in Shiroda Abhay Prabhu flirts with Congress for a ticket in upcoming polls

SHIRODA:  With former MLA Mahadev Naik safely now in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fold and very likely to contest the upcoming Assembly elections on an AAP ticket, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) candidate for the Shiroda constituency Abhay Prabhu – a former Congressman himself, is making secret overtures to the Congress leadership, in the hope of getting a Congress ticket.

During the by-polls of 2019, the Congress imported Mahadev Naik from the BJP at the last moment, which turned out to be a disaster of immense proportions, as the Congress was totally routed in the constituency, which it had ruled (under Subhash Shirodkar) for decades.

While Naik disappeared after the elections in 2019, he has now crossed over to the AAP and will contest on an AAP ticket in Shiroda, the MGP candidate Abhay Prabhu is keeping one foot in the Congress fold.

Even today, the Shiroda constituency has a sizable silent Congress voter base and since the Congress unit in Shiroda is yet to find a strong leader – the entire Congress Block led by Block President Sunil Sawkar had joined their former boss Subhash Shirodkar at the last minute in 2019,  leaving the Congress with no ground workers in the constituency, Abhay Prabhu is making the most of the situation.

He is secretly hustling for a Congress ticket, at the same time keeping his MGP bosses Deepak and Sudin Dhavalikar in good spirits.

The Goa Forward Party (GFP) is likely to anoint its Block In-charge Vishant Gaonkar – who was also by-the-way flirting with the Congress in 2019, as its candidate.

Sensing that the Congress has a strong voter base in Shiroda and no strong candidate, both the GFP and MGP candidates are secretly keeping their options open and their lips sealed.