Sandesh Prabhudesai
16 May 2002
Decks are cleared now with 210 contestants
finally remaining in fray for the Goa Assembly polls, as
27 independent contestants withdrew on the last day of withdrawal
today.
The polls are scheduled for 30 May, with
the whole state using electronic voting machines as being
used twice in 1999 - for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
Congress is the only party that is contesting
all the 40 Assembly seats. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
has however left one seat of Velim for their minister Philip
Neri Rodrigues.
As alliance talks with the Nationalist
Congress Party failed at the last minute, the party led
here by former chief minister Dr Wilfred de Souza could
field only 20 candidates, almost half than what was announced.
The NCP has even accommodated three Congress
rebels, who were denied ticket, including former minister
Jose Philip D'Souza, who had quit the BJP government soon
after dissolution on 27 February. The two others are Rahul
Pereira (Quepem) and Ulhas Naik (Poinguinim).
The regional alliance of the Maharashtrawadi
Gomantak Party (25) and the United Goans Democratic Party
(10) has altogether fielded 35 candidates. Unlike their
senior partner, the UGDP has also accommodated four Congress
rebels.
These are former Congress minister Monte
Cruz (Fatorda), former Congress MLA Victor Gonsalves (St
Cruz) and two other filthy rich contestants - Babush Monserette
(Taleigao) and Micky Pacheco (Benaulim).
Besides 46 independents, which also includes
several rebels of the Congress and the BJP, the Shiv Sena
is also contesting 15 seats, besides six of Left parties
and 10 of the Goa Suraj Party - a newly formed party of
senior educated citizens of the state.
At least eight former chief ministers are
in the fray, five among them from the Congress alone, including
Pratapsing Rane, Luizinho Faleiro, Francisco Sardinha, Churchill
Alemao and Ravi Naik, who was the BJP's deputy chief minister
till last week.
The other ex-chief ministers are Shashikala
Kakodkar (MGP) and Dr de Souza (NCP), besides BJP chief
minister Manohar Parrikar.
There are altogether 30 contestants in
the fray, who have been in the ministerial positions some
time or the other, thanks to the series of defections Goa
has witnessed since 1990.
Your
Comments Please
