PANAJI: Except for brief periods when he quit on his own, Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar has been firmly in the government on his terms, whether it was BJP or Congress. Since 1999 when he was first elected on MGP ticket and became a minister in Francisco Sardinha’s cabinet, Dhavalikar has called the shots, until he was jolted by a midnight coup by his own MLAs in the wee hours of Wednesday.The exit of sports and tourism minister Manohar Azgaonkar and Sanvordem MLA Deepak Pauskar from the party and the merger of MGP’s legislative wing into BJP left Dhavalikar in the cold, and within hours, he was out of the cabinet.Understandably, Dhavalikar did not take the midnight drama kindly, although given what transpired during the government formation following the death of chief minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17, he would have known a revolt is brewing.“I am totally free now. Splitting MGP at midnight is the biggest dacoity done by chowkidars,” Dhavalikar told reporters after he was dropped as deputy chief minister and PWD minister from the Pramod Sawant-led cabinet.The mention of chowkidar was a comment on BJP’s election campaign—‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’.“People of Goa are surprised at this dacoity done by chowkidars. They are looking at the situation and people will decide on the course of action,” Dhavalikar said after vacating his office at the ministerial block.The government too swiftly got into action once the two MGP MLAs merged with BJP, showing Dhavalikar the door.“The governor of Goa is pleased to accept the recommendation of the chief minister that Ramakrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar shall cease to be a minister in the council of ministers headed by the chief minister, with immediate effect,” Varsha Naik, joint secretary (general administration), said in a notification.It is not for the first time that MGP MLAs have deserted the party. In 1999, when Luizinho Faleiro enjoyed a majority, two MGP MLAs—Ramakant Khalap and Prakash Velip—split from the party and joined Congress. Despite having 22 MLAs, Congress government collapsed and the two MLAs, Khalap and Velip, have not been able to win another term in the state legislative assembly.A five-time MLA from Marcaim, Dhavalikar was first elected in 1999 on a MGP ticket and has since then made the constituency his fortress. At the last state assembly elections in 2017, Dhavalikar defeated BJP’s Pradeep Shet by a record 13,680 votes.In June 2007, after being a minister in the Digambar Kamat-led cabinet, Dhavalikar resigned and joined hands with Parrikar to topple the Congress-led government. That plan didn’t work out as Congress got the Churchill Alemao-led Save Goa Front to back them and Dhavalikar was left out in the cold. He returned soon enough as Kamat dropped Cumbarjua MLA Pandurang Madkaikar from his cabinet.Dhavalikar was again isolated on the eve of the 2017 elections, but this time it was out of his own choice. Growing differences with the then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar meant both Dhavalikar brothers were dropped from the cabinet.MGP contested the assembly election that followed independently and won three seats. Dhavalikar returned to the cabinet along with his pet PWD portfolio with Parrikar as the chief minister.It seemed smooth sailing for Dhavalikar again, until he was left crippled by his own MLAs on Wednesday.

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