VASCO: Adv Anita Thorat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to be declared elected unopposed as no other candidate entered the fray in Sancoale Zilla Panchayat (ZP) constituency at the end of filing of nomination papers on Thursday.
The Congress on Wednesday had announced the candidature of Ujwala Premanand Naik but she did not turn up before the returning officer much to the dismay of Congress supporters. The agitated Congress workers alleged that the party candidate succumbed to the political pressure of Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho and later demanded the immediate resignation of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Girish Chodankar.
According to these Congress workers, they had supported former ZP member and current Chicalim panchayat member Nilima Naik as a party candidate for the Sancoale seat reserved for women. They alleged that GPCC president on Wednesday declared that Ujwala Naik, wife of former Sancoale sarpanch Premamand Naik will be party's official candidate. They further informed that both, Ujawal and Nilima arrived at a compromise wherein it was decided that Nilima will file the nomination papers.
The restive Congress workers then started contacting both the aspirants and party leaders in desperation and the mobile phone numbers of both the aspirants were unanswered even as the time for filing nominations was coming closer. On the other hand, the BJP workers who were also present outside the office of the returning officer realized that the Congress candidate had played truant and jumped in jubilation that Anita Thorat would be declared elected unopposed. Some of the Congress supporters told GT that Nilima Naik was the winnable candidate but the party president Girish Chodankar chose Ujwala Naik. Meanwhile, the scrutiny of nomination papers will be taken up on Friday morning and if all the papers and documents are found valid then Adv Thorat will be officially elected unopposed.
CM congratulates Anita Thorat
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant congratulated Adv Anita Thorat for being elected unopposed as Zilla Panchayat (ZP) Member from Sancoale constituency on BJP ticket. Adv Thorat Minister along with Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho, BJP State president Sadanand Shet Tanavde, Dabolim BJP Mandal president Sandeep Sood, Chicalim sarpanch Seby Pereira, deputy sarpanch Kamla Prasad Yadav, Sancoale sarpanch Girish Pillai, Chicolna-Bogmalo deputy sarpanch Arun Naik and panchayat member Laxman Kavlekar and flanked by her supporters met the Chief Minister and other party leaders at Panaji.