Former Goa deputy CM Dayanand Narvekar joins Aam Aadmi Party

Narvekar was accused of misusing his position as the Goa Cricket Association chairman in 2002 to print and sell fake tickets for an India-Australia one day international match

Former Goa deputy chief minister Dayanand Narvekar on Wednesday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the assembly elections early next year even as his induction brought focus to his past, which is tainted with allegations of corruption.

Narvekar’s induction into the AAP has led to rumblings within the party, which started out on an anti-corruption plank. (Photo Courtesy-LiveHindustan)

“I had offers from many parties, but I decided to choose a party that is non-corrupt, non-controversial, and one that is taking the people’s issues forward. The AAP has a good structure and presence in 20-25 constituencies,” Narvekar said. The AAP is positioning itself as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP in Goa.

Narvekar added that when he met AAP’s national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, he was surprised to learn about his government’s “accomplishments”. “This party has a good name at the national and international level,” he said.

Narvekar’s past has led to rumblings within AAP, which started out on an anti-corruption plank. He was accused of misusing his position as the Goa Cricket Association chairman in 2002 to print and sell fake tickets for an India-Australia one day international match. Thousands of spectators, some with genuine tickets, were refused entry into an already full stadium. He was booked and arrested for cheating and corruption.

Narvekar, who served as vice president for the Board of Control for Cricket in India between 2009 and 2012, was also accused of handing over government land acquired for setting up an IT Park to real estate firms in Goa’s prime Dona Paula locality. The project was later scrapped. He has denied any involvement in the scams saying he was never convicted.

Narvekar was first elected to the assembly in 1977 when he was 27. He was re-elected until 2012 when he lost to Glenn Ticlo of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He floated his own political party after quitting Congress in 2014 but was effectively inactive in politics until he joined the AAP.