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PARRIKAR TO CONTEST ELECTION FROM PANAJI BUT BABUSH HAS NOT YET OPENED HIS CARDS

The Panaji constituency seat has become an issue of a prestige for everyone after Mr. Parrikar made it the most important seat in the state
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Babush Monseratte, Taleigao heavyweight politician, who had earlier hinted of contesting the by-polls from Panaji for one more time after he had lost to his opponent in the last election by merely 1000 votes is now silent over the issue and Mr. Manohar Parrikar is preparing to contest from Panaji. Will Mr. Monseratte stand firm on his words and contest the election against Mr. Parrikar this time?

The Panaji constituency seat has become an issue of a prestige for everyone after Mr. Parrikar made it the most important seat in the state of Goa. Babush Monseratte has always been ambitious about winning the Panaji seat which is considered to be the fortress of BJP but now he is silent over the issue. There was a news about Babush is going to contest from St. Cruz constituency but is it not confirmed the cause, if that happens, the Congress will lose one seat.

Meanwhile, based on the information available from the reliable sources, Goa’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has finally decided to narrow down on Panaji seat which he is sure of winning. According to the sources, Mr. Parrikar had won this seat for the five times since 1994. In the meantime, BJP core committee has not yet put the seal of confirmation on this new development.

BABUSH MONSERATTE TO CONTEST FROM PANAJI (SOURCE)

According to the BJP core committee, they are yet to make an official announcement on this issue but a general consensus has emerged among the top party functionaries that the seat currently represented by Sidharth Kuncalienker is a ‘safe constituency’ for Parrikar. In the present situation, everything depends on the Bi-Polls which will be taking place in the next few months and it could lead to overturning the entire political equation.

It may be recalled that, a month ago, after losing the Panaji election Mr. Babush Monserrate had declared that he was ready to fight another battle for the Panaji seat. He gambled and lost the February 4 polls against Kuncalienker by around 1,000 votes. Although, Mr. Monseratte was not available to comment on this issue but the sources close to him has revealed that Mr. Monseratte is very much keen on contesting the by-polls.

There are various speculations over the area in which Babush will be contesting the bypoll. Some sources say that he will ask the St. Cruz MLA to step down and make the way for him while others say that he will cross swords with Parrikar in Panaji constituency this way the seat of Congress will not be lost and his victory will only make the congress stronger.

Meanwhile, the BJP state President Vinay Tendulkar told the media that they have not yet finalized the constituency for Mr. Parrikar. “We have not finalized any constituency (for the bypoll) as of now. The party will take the decision in a couple of days time,” state BJP president Vinay Tendulkar told TOI. Sources in the party said based on the feedback gathered from the workers during the consultation process conducted by the chief minister in Panaji last week, the party managers are confident that the former defense minister will have a smooth run in his home turf. The party has left the decision to Parrikar, a source in BJP said. The Panaji MLA Mr. Sidharth Kuncalienker, who had proved to be a giant killer on March 11—the day of counting—will have to resign the seat for his mentor as the bypoll will be held on September this year. Kuncalienker has already been reappointed chairman of economic development corporation (EDC).

According to the sources, many more players will be trying their luck this time in the bypolls. From Valpoi Mr. Vishwajit Rane will be contesting and Congress has announced that they will contest the for the Valpoi seat against the Junior Rane. The Panaji seat may have more than two contestants this time and St. Cruz seat could also be contested by Mrs. Victoria Fernadnes if the Congress MLA resigns to make the way for Babush. The best thing here is, everyone is confident of winning the seats. 

VISHWAJIT RANE TO CONTEST FROM VALPOI (SOURCE)

Meanwhile, according to the sources, Mr. Parrikar was supposed to contest from Mapusa and the sitting MLA Mr. Francis D’souza was offered the post of Governor to another state to which the people of Mapusa took an objection. The second thought was the Curchorem seat and Mr. Cabral was ready to vacate the same anytime but it looks like Mr. Parrikar has better luck in Panaji only. Only the time will tell who is going to win but the possibility of mid-term polls cannot be ruled out in case any of the equations goes wrong. Please do share your comments and suggestions on this issue.

NEWS SOURCE: TOI

IMAGE SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS  

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