MGP Stakes Claim to 7 Seats for Goa 2027 Polls Ponda Becomes Main Battleground

The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Goa's oldest regional party and the BJP's alliance partner, has started hard bargaining for the 2027 Assembly elections. The party has staked its claim on seven important constituencies.

MGP supremo and Power Minister Ramkrishna 'Sudin' Dhavalikar, who has led the party for more than 20 years, announced the list. He said the party wants Ponda, Priol, Shiroda, Marcaim, Mandrem, Bicholim, and Pernem.

He made this announcement on October 24, 2026. Dhavalikar said that the MGP will first hold its executive committee and general body meeting on October 25 to finalize its stand, and only then will it start formal talks with the BJP leadership in Delhi.

Why Ponda Is the Biggest Issue

Among the seven seats, Ponda is the most controversial. Dhavalikar has firmly said that Ponda must go to the MGP and questioned why his party should leave it.

The history of Ponda makes it important. In the 2022 election, the MGP was not in alliance with the BJP and contested alone. Its candidate, Ketan Bhatkar, lost by just 77 votes to winner Ravi Naik. It was one of the closest fights in Goa.

After that, both Bhatkar and Ravi Naik passed away. A by-election was announced and then cancelled in April 2025, creating more confusion. Now the seat is vacant, and both the BJP and the MGP want it.

Details of the 7 Seats Demanded by the MGP

The MGP demand includes its two sitting seats and five new ones:

• Marcaim Currently held by Sudin Dhavalikar himself, a safe seat for the MGP.

• Mandrem Currently held by MGP's Jit Arolkar. He won this seat after Parsekar left the BJP in 2022.

• Ponda A vacant seat where the MGP was the runner-up in 2022 with a margin of 77 votes.

• Priol Currently held by BJP's WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar.

• Shiroda Held by the BJP and earlier represented by Govind Gaude. This will be a tough negotiation.

Bicholim and Pernem

Two important North Goa seats where the MGP has traditional support.

Will This Demand Break the BJP-MGP Alliance?

Political experts say this could be a deal-breaker. In 2022, the MGP contested 13 seats alone and won 2. Now, the BJP is aiming to win 30 seats out of 40 in 2027. If the MGP takes 7 seats, the BJP will be left with only 33 seats to contest, which many BJP leaders may not accept.

The MGP has always been the kingmaker in Goan politics. Since 2012, it has mostly allied with the BJP but has also switched sides when it did not get a respectable deal.

The MGP meeting on Saturday evening, October 25, will be crucial. After that, the real bargaining will begin when BJP National President Nitin Nabin visits Goa on October 27 and 28.

The main question now is whether the BJP will sacrifice Ponda and other seats to keep its oldest ally happy, or whether it will risk a split that could divide votes in North Goa. The decision taken in the next few days will shape Goa's 2027 election battle.