Hoping against hope, the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is expecting the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, its alliance partner in the government, to support the BJP candidates at the forthcoming Mandrem and Shiroda by-elections.

The state BJP leaders would also be meeting the party’s national president, Amit Shah, later this week to chalk out a strategy for the by-elections. Incidentally, the MGP has already clarified that it will contest the bypoll in both the constituencies not for challenging the BJP, but to “teach a lesson” to defectors namely Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar, the two Congressmen who recently joined the BJP and are favourites to receive the candidature of the party.