Congress candidates take pledge of loyalty
Ahead of the Goa Assembly Elections, Congress conducted a pledging ceremony to convince their supporters that they won't witness a repeat of 2019, when 10 Congress MLAs deflected to BJP.
On Saturday, 36 Congress candidates went to the Mahalaxmi Temple, Khuris in Bamboli and Hazrat Mohammad Hamjashah Dargah in Beti and took an oath that they would not defect and would work together for the betterment of Goa.
Senior Congress leader and election strategist P Chidambaram, Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, GPCC president Girish Chodankar and other Congress leaders were present along with all the 36 candidates.
Speaking on the occasion, former Chief Minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Digambar Kamat said, “Goans are known for communal harmony In front of Mahalaxmi we have taken a pledge that for five years we will stay together. Thirty six people have come. They have taken the oath before Mahalaxmi and the Bambolim Cross, which is considered a very powerful place of worship as far as the Catholic community is concerned.”
Kamat also addressed the public perception that Congress MLAs can be bought. He said, "We are very serious about this and will not allow any party to buy our MLAs. We believe in God. We have complete faith in God. So today we have taken a vow that we will not fail. "
Congress candidates take pledge of loyalty
He said that not only the Congress was responsible for the previous defections but also the BJP which was inclined to transfer its MLAs. "The BJP offered them offers and so they changed their party. We want to assure the people of Goa that this will not happen again. " That's what Kamat said.
Congress candidates take pledge of loyalty
"Political wholesale buying should stop. That is why we are working aggressively against the secession that undermines democracy in Goa, "he said.
"We have full faith in temples, churches and dargahs and the people of Goa practice communal harmony," Kamat said. "So we decided to take an oath and bless God," he said.
The election for the 40 seats will take place on February 14, and the ballots will be counted on March 10.