CM Dr Pramod Sawant confident of “absolute BJP majority”, files nomination papers for Goa Assembly polls

Trinamool Congress rubbishes rumours of imminent “dissolution” of its Goa unit

@the_news_21

Mumbai: Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would return to power in the ensuing Goa Assembly election. He asserted that the saffron party would win more than 22 seats and achieve an “absolute majority”. The Chief Minister filed his nomination from Sanquelim constituency, which he won in both the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections. The 40-seat Goa Assembly goes to polls on February 14. 

After filing his nomination papers, Dr Sawant remarked, “This time, too, I am confident of winning the Sanquelim seat and the BJP will win the polls by a huge margin.” Sawant filed his nomination accompanied by the party’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis. 

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Girish Chodankar lashed out at Dr. Sawant alleging that serial FIRs had been filed against Dharmesh Saglani who is the Congress’ candidate from Sanquelim pitted against Dr Sawant. 

Chodankar while speaking to newspersons remarked, “The Congress dares the BJP led by Dr. Sawant to arrest our candidate (Saglani) but you (Dr. Sawant) won’t win even if you do. People of Sanquelim will defeat Dr Pramod Sawant.” 

He further alleged that Dr. Sawant was misusing his post to stifle the Congress candidate. “Multiple FIRs can be filed against Dharmesh Saglani in the coming days, but we will remain unfazed. In 2017, the voters of Mandrem had voted ex-BJP CM Laxmikant Parsekar out of power. The voters of Sanquelim will do the same to Dr. Sawant this time,” added Chodankar.  

January 28 is the last date for filing nominations and hence most of the candidates made a beeline today to file their papers.  

Among those who filed nominations included BJP rebels Utpal Parrikar, son of the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar, and Deepak Pauskar, the ex-Public Works Department Minister and sitting MLA of Sanvordem who was denied a ticket this time. Both are contesting as Independent candidates.  

Utpal offered prayers at Mahalaxmi temple before filing nomination as an independent candidate in Panaji, the seat which his father held for 23 years. His rival, incumbent Panaji MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate, too filed his nomination today. 

The Parrikar Junior, disenchanted with the BJP party brass offering Monserrate, a candidate with alleged criminal cases a ticket, announced that he was contesting the polls in order to “stand up for the values” that were steadily eroding in the present BJP leadership. 

Predicting that the BJP would not cross single-digits in this election, Pauskar said that important leaders were deserting the saffron party as it was no longer the BJP that Manohar Parrikar had led. 

Meanwhile, amid the hectic filing of nominations, rumours swirled that the Trinamool Congress’ Goa unit was soon going to be ‘dissolved’, prompting the Goa TMC unit to issue strong denial. 

The TMC’s Goa unit chief Kiran Kandolkar said that rumours circulating on the microblogging platform Twitter pertaining to the Goa TMC unit’s imminent dissolution was utter nonsense and was allegedly being spread by “the opposition and a section of the paid media.”  

Scotching the social media tweets, Kandolkar remarked, “The TMC is here to stay and we are here (in Goa) for the long run. I urge everyone not to believe in fake news.”  

Senior TMC leader and ex-Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro dismissed rumours of his resignation from the Mamata Banerjee-led party, calling such speculation “false, mischievous and malicious.” 

Faleiro in a series of tweets said, “This is propaganda being spread by those rattled by the support and blessings that the people of Goa have showered on the TMC. The Goa TMC is the only party that is fighting for Goa and will emerge victorious…I embraced TMC to fight BJP and their juggernaut and I will not back down from this fight. As a disciplined man, I will continue to work hard till the BJP is defeated.” 

Faleiro, who was one of the first Goan leaders to join the TMC (after he left the Congress), has been named as the party’s candidate for the Fatorda seat where his rival will be Goa Forward Party (GFP) chief Vijai Sardesai.

Following the TMC announcing his nomination, rumours flew thick and fast that Faleiro was reportedly upset at his candidature, given that the TMC leader does not have much clout in Fatorda.  

The TMC, despite its strident campaigning and initial successes in poaching leaders mainly from the Congress, has been buffeted by a string of defections and resignations with a number of leaders, who had joined the party initially, now leaving the party in droves. 

Major leaders to leave the TMC in the recent past include Yatish Naik, general secretary of the party’s Goa unit, who resigned on Tuesday. Earlier, former MLA Lavoo Mamledar and ex-Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lorenco had quit the TMC weeks after joining the party.