Janardan Jagannath Shinkre

Janardan Jagannath Shinkre (24 June 1916 – unknown) was an Indian independence activist, journalist, and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament in the 4th Lok Sabha, representing the Panaji constituency, and was a founding member and the first General Secretary of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

Early life and education Shinkre was born on 24 June 1916 in the village of Siolim, Bardez taluka, in what was then Portuguese Goa. He completed his Marathi secondary education, followed by three years at the Liceu de Goa and the Curso da Escola Normal teacher training program.

Goan independence movement (1933–1961) Shinkre's activism began in 1933 at the age of 17, when he joined the Indian National Congress as a student and participated in a clandestine flag-hoisting ceremony at Campal, Panaji. Between August 1939 and January 1948, he worked as a government primary school teacher in Silvassa, Colem, and Chodan. His nationalist activities led to his dismissal from government service in 1948.

In protest, Shinkre filed his nomination for the North Goa Lok Sabha seat as a "dummy" candidate to prevent the official MGP candidate from running unopposed if the party withdrew its support. In response, MGP leader Dayanand Bandodkar stripped Shinkre of his authority to issue party symbols (B Forms) and formally snapped ties with him on 18 November 1963. Shinkre subsequently contested the election as an independent candidate using the "Two Leaves" symbol—a symbol later associated with anti-merger sentiments. He ultimately forfeited his deposit, polling only 3,226 votes in that election.

Later career Despite the earlier disagreements, Shinkre remained active in Goan politics. In the 1967 Indian general election, he was elected to the Lok Sabha representing the Panaji constituency on an independent ticket, with the support of the MGP. He continued contesting as an independent candidate in both seats, North Goa and South Goa, till the 1987 elections, but never crossed beyond 2000 votes and thus lost every election. He later served as the vice-president of the Ponda Municipal Council in 1972.