Shashikala Kakodkar

Shashikala Kakodkar Biography

Shashikala Kakodkar is a prominent leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), who has served as the chief minister of Goa during the period, 12 August 1973 – 27 April 1979. She was the third female politician to become a chief minister of an Indian state. She is the daughter of Goa's first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar, after the territory was returned to India by Portugal. She succeeded as the chief minister of Goa, following the death of her father in 1973. She continued power still an internal split occurred in her party in 1979. Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party is a political party based on Goa. She is known for her support for Marathi-language politics.

Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly was dissolved and elections were announced to be held in 1977. Kakodkar stood as candidate from Bicholim constituency and main opponent was the prominent leader, Jaisingrao Rane. MGP won 15 seats in the Assembly elections and congress got 10 seats. Though there were rumours of a merger, it didn’t happen. Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party led by Shashikala Kakodkar stayed separate and earned 15 out of 30 seats.

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party espouses the cause of the Bahujan Samaj, often interpreted as the non-Brahmin section of Hindu society. However in 1980 elections, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party lost its power and Congress formed the government. It was first formed as Congress (U) which later transformed to Congress (I). Following the erosion of her party, she left MGP for a short period to for, Bhausaheb Bandodkar Gomantak Party (BBGP) named after her father. In 1990, MGP bounced back to power for a short while following the defeat of Congress. She joined the cabinet and served as the Education Minister of Goa.

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Updated: May 07, 2014