After being denied the opportunity to run on their party’s insignia, a number of candidates from across the political spectrum in Goa have opted to mutiny and run as independents in the state’s upcoming elections.
Bombay Tribune(Panaji) After being denied the opportunity to run on their party’s insignia, a number of candidates from across the political spectrum in Goa have opted to mutiny and run as independents in the state’s upcoming elections.
Laximant Parsenkar, a former chief minister and prominent BJP state leader, is one of those who has stated his intention to run for Mandrem as an independent candidate. On Thursday, Parsekar’s name was missing from the BJP’s list of candidates, as the ruling party decided to give the ticket to Dayanand Sopte, the former chief minister’s opponent in the 2017 elections. Sopte has since switched allegiances to the BJP. On Saturday, Parsekar, who has led the BJP’s manifesto committee, is set to retire from all party positions.
Utpal Parrikar, the son of former Goa chief minister and India’s defence minister, has decided to leave the party that his father helped found in the state. The Panaji assembly seat has been allocated to Atanasio Babush Monserrate, a former Congressman and political opponent of the late Manohar Parrikar. Parrikar junior is interested in it. Monserrate is currently out on bail after facing criminal allegations in two different cases. Utpal Parrikar, who has launched a full-fledged campaign from Panaji, is anticipated to declare his choice to run by Friday evening.
Savitri Kavlekar, wife of deputy chief minister Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar, resigned as vice-president of the BJP’s state women’s wing on Thursday, just hours after being denied a ticket. “The Rane family has been handed two tickets,” Savitri Kavlekar, who announced that she will run for election as an independent from Sanguem, said during a press conference. “Then why are you treating me so badly?” Kavlekar was enraged because Health Minister Viswajit Rane and his wife, Dr. Divya Rane, had been handed party tickets to run in the elections. Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar, her husband and deputy chief minister, has been given a party ticket from the neighbouring Quepem constituency.
Deepak Pauskar, the PWD minister, and Deputy Speaker Isidore Fernandes, the Deputy Speaker, are the two other ruling party members who have quit to run as rebels in Sanvordem and Canacona, respectively. Local leaders from both seats have been given BJP tickets. In 2017, Pauskar was elected on an MGP ticket, while Fernandes was elected as a Congress candidate.
Former Benaulim MLA Mickey Pacheco and Royla Fernandes, a fellow contestant for the ticket from the same seat, were both rejected nominations by the Congress. In Benaulim, where former chief minister Churchill Alemao is running on a TMC ticket and the AAP is fielding Capt. Venzy Viegas, both are poised to run as independents or investigate alternative options after Anthony Dias was handed the Congress ticket. Royla was the sole candidate who had collected her deposit when the AAP ran for the same seat in the 2017 elections. Pacheco had only recently joined the party, expecting to get a ticket.
After being refused a seat in another South Goa constituency, former independent MLA Benjamin Silva has defected to the TMC. His decision to join the TMC has irritated Alemao, who departed a press conference after learning of Silva’s decision. Moreno Rebello, who spent 20 days in the BJP in December and only returned to the party when Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco left the Congress to join the TMC, has been granted the ticket by the Congress in Curtorim. After being rejected by the Congress, Lourenco, who left the TMC less than a month ago, will run as an independent.
Two former mayors in the state capital of Panaji are planning a revolt against the Congress after being denied a ticket. Surendra Furtado and Uday Madkaikar were also vying for a ticket, which was handed to Elvis Gomes, a previous AAP chief ministerial candidate and former bureaucrat. Cuncolim in South Goa has already denied Gomes a ticket. In St. Andre, where candidate Rama Kankonkar withdrew after the ticket was granted to Jagdish Bhobe, who joined the party a few hours before the list was announced, the TMC, which is contesting the polls on imports from other constituencies, has also encountered revolt. Kankonkar intends to battle as a lone wolf.
While numerous dissidents are expected to run as independents, the three independent MLAs elected in 2017 will compete on party lines. Govind Gaude and Rohan Khaunte of the BJP are running for Priol and Porvorim, respectively, while Prasad Gaonkar of the Congress is running for Sanguem.
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