Tag: Goa Assembly Elections 2022

  • Congress in more mess? Three days over since Goa poll results, party yet to decide its legislature leader

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Congress in Goa is yet to take a decision on its legislature party leader, even after three days of the announcement of the state Assembly election results.

    According to sources, the Goa Congress unit has not held a single meeting after it failed to reach the majority mark of 21 in the 40-member Assembly.

    The Congress got 11 seats, its ally Goa Forward Party (GFP) secured one seat, while the BJP bagged 20 seats.

    Earlier, a senior Congress leader had said the Congress-GFP alliance will name its leader immediately after the election results are out.

    However, talking to PTI on Sunday, a Congress leader on condition of anonymity said, We are yet to get any invitation for a meeting after the counting.”

    Congress MLA-elect Michael Lobo said a decision on the legislature party leader would be taken “at the right time”.

    The Congress will have to inform the Assembly about their leader when the session is called for a confidence vote for the chief minister,’ he said.

    While Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar was not available for comments, another senior party leader claimed the elected members were divided between Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo as their leader.

    Lobo denied lobbying for the post of Leader of the Opposition.

    I am not lobbying for any post. If the party high command gives me the responsibility, I am ready to accept it, he said.

    Former CM Kamat was elected from Margao Assembly segment, while Lobo won from Calangute seat.

    Lobo, a former BJP minister, quit the saffron party and joined the Congress in January this year, before the elections were held last month.

  • ‘Open to post-poll alliance with non-BJP parties’: Congress extends olive braches to AAP, Trinamool ahead of Goa results

    By PTI

    PANAJI: With the date for the Goa Assembly poll results nearing, the Congress has said it is open to a post-poll alliance with parties other than the BJP to form the next government, if it does not get a majority on its own.

    Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly were held on February 14 and the results would be declared on March 10.

    Talking to reporters on Sunday, All India Congress Committee’s Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said if his party falls short of the majority mark of 21, it is open to seeking the support of outfits like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to form government.

    The Congress had contested the election in alliance with the Goa Forward Party.

    Besides, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had tied-up with the MGP, Goa’s oldest regional outfit, before the polls.

    Rao said after the final result is out, the Congress Legislature Party will waste no time in electing its leader.

    If the Congress gets majority, “we will stake claim to form government the same day”, he said.

    The Congress had won 17 seats in the 2017 state Assembly elections, while the BJP bagged 13.

    But, the saffron party formed government by quickly forging an alliance with some other parties and independents.

    Over the last five years, a number of Congress MLAs quit the party and its strength in the House was reduced to two.

  • Goa Trinamool chief claims Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC abandoned party candidates after polls

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Goa Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Kiran Kandolkar has claimed that their political consultant I-PAC abandoned the party candidates after the state Assembly polls held last week.

    Talking to reporters here on Monday, Kandolkar also said he was not quitting as TMC’s Goa unit chief, but was upset with I-PAC head Prashant Kishor and his team.

    There have been speculations since some time about a rift between the TMC and I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee), which had helped the Mamata Banerjee-led party during the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    The TMC contested the Goa Assembly elections in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

    Polling was held on February 14 and the counting of votes will be done on March 10.

    Kandolkar had contested the election from Aldona Assembly seat, while his wife Kavita contested from Thivim on TMC’s ticket.

    He claimed that most of the TMC candidates in Goa felt they were abandoned by the I-PAC after the polls.

    “All candidates fielded by the TMC have some or the other issues with the I-PAC. When the candidates told me about their issues with Prashant Kishor and his I-PAC team, I discussed the matter with my party workers, who advised me to quit as the TMC Goa president,” he said.

    “I am not quitting as TMC Goa head, but I am upset with Prashant Kishor and the I-PAC team,” he said.

    A meeting of all party candidates has been called on Tuesday to discuss the polling in their respective Assembly constituencies, he added.

  • Goa polls: Congress assures state’s economic revival as it hits out at Trinamool, AAP

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday said if her party comes to power in Goa after the upcoming elections, Rs 500 crore from the government fund would be allocated for employment generation and there would be 30 per cent reservation for women in government jobs.

    Addressing a public meeting in Nuvem Assembly constituency of Goa ahead of the state polls scheduled on February 14, Gandhi also said that a staff selection commission would be formed to get rid of “scams” in government jobs allocation.

    Referring to the Congress’ manifesto released on Sunday for the Goa polls, Gandhi assured 30 per cent reservation for women in the state government jobs.

    She also said Rs 500 crore from the government fund would be allocated for the creation of jobs.

    Under the Nyay scheme, families from weaker sections will be given Rs 6,000 per month which will help them sustain and also inject money into the economy, she said.

    The Congress has assured to build hostels for working women in Margao and Panaji and increase the number of police stations supervised by women.

    The party has also announced that the prices of petrol and diesel would not be allowed to rise above Rs 80 per litre, and the party government will subsidise the remaining amount.

    Notably, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the 40-member Goa Assembly after the 2017 state polls, but the BJP then forged an alliance with some regional outfits and independents to form government.

    Referring to the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Priyanka Gandhi reiterated that the Congress would give 40 per cent of its tickets to women in UP.

    “You know that I have been working very hard to bring women into the political process. In Uttar Pradesh, we have said that 40 per cent of the women will fight the elections. There are two-three reasons were are doing this. Women comprise 50 per cent of the population, so it is their right to have 50 per cent representation,” she said.

    Gandhi said this is not something being done as a favour (giving representation to women).

    “It is our right. We have to fight for our right,” she said.

    “More than that, I feel politics today is filled with hatred, anger. You hear speeches, 90 per cent of them are negative. There is no positivity in it. I firmly believe that we women being practical people, we can bring positivity and compassion in politics as well. Women should be helped to stand on their feet,” she said.

    A week before Goa goes to polls and multi-cornered contests shaping up, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday termed the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the parties of defectors.

    He also said that both these parties lacked a winning potential but they are dividing non-BJP votes.

    Addressing a public meeting at the Nuvem assembly constituency, he said that voters should not waste their votes by supporting the AAP or the TMC rather they should choose the NOTA (None of The Above) option.

    “These parties have suddenly descended on in Goa. They have no roots. Is there any grassroots worker that has risen from the ranks of the AAP and TMC?” he questioned.

    Later, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attended the public meeting in Nuvem in south Goa.

    “Both AAP and TMC are parties of defectors. They have allowed the entry of defectors from other parties and fielded them as candidates,” he said.

    The TMC and the AAP cannot win a sufficient number of seats to form a government in Goa, he said.

    “What are they doing here? The plain and blunt truth is that they are dividing non-BJP votes. They are cutting into non-BJP votes,” he added.

    The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, had earlier proposed an alliance of Congress and other parties to take on the ruling BJP in Goa polls.

    Last month, Chidambaram had said that the TMC’s proposal for alliance in Goa was not considered as it poached Congress leaders.

    Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP has also been trying to make inroads in Goa.

    Chidambaram on Monday also took a swipe at the TMC which had announced that a Rs 20 lakh loan will be provided sans collateral at a four per cent interest rate if it comes to power in Goa.

    “I challenge any TMC leader to show me one banker who will land you money without collateral and at four per cent interest amount,” the former Union finance minister, who is handling Congress’ election affairs in Goa, said.

    He also questioned the AAP’s promise to give a Rs 3,000 monthly allowance for unemployed youth in Goa.

    “Why the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is not extending the same benefits to people in Delhi?” he asked.

    “Should the BJP government come to power for another term of five years or should it be replaced by another Congress? This is the only question that you have to answer on St Valentine’s Day, February 14,” Chidambaram said.

    He said Goa is witnessing a wave of change to replace BJP.

    “A wave is sweeping across Goa which says that a period of 10 years is enough for the BJP and we have to replace it with another government,” the Congress veteran said.

    In the 2017 Assembly polls held in Goa, Congress won the maximum 17 of the 40 seats restricting the BJP at 13.

    However, BJP joined hands with regional allies to form a government under Manohar Parrikar (now deceased).

    The number of Congress MLAs reduced to just two over the last five years as the bulk of its leaders have switched to other parties with at least two moving to TMC.

    The Congress has already announced its pre-poll alliance with the GFP, while the TMC has a tie-up with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

  • Goa polls: Trinamool-MGP alliance promises resumption of mining, reservation for women

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Trinamool Congress and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party have released their common manifesto for the upcoming Goa Assembly polls, promising resumption of mining operations and reservation for women in jobs and local bodies in the coastal state if they come to power.

    The mining operations, which used to be one of the main sources of revenue for Goa, came to a grinding halt in the state in March 2018 after the Supreme Court quashed 88 mining leases.

    The poll manifesto, released by alliance partners TMC and MGP on Saturday ahead of the state polls on February 14, mentioned that “instituting environmentally sustainable mining practices with 80 per cent reservation for Goans in extraction contracts and mining jobs would be the priority” of their government.

    All income generated through the Goa Mineral Corporation would be utilised to fund welfare schemes in the state, it said.

    The manifesto also promised 33 per cent reservation for Goan women in all jobs, including the private sector, and 50 per cent reservation for women in all the local bodies.

    The TMC-MGP alliance has also assured two fast track courts to address crimes against women and children, and a mobile app for women’s safety.

    According to the manifesto, the TMC-MGP government would boost Goa’s gross domestic product to Rs 1.8 lakh crore from the existing Rs 0.71 lakh crore by creating 2,00,000 new jobs with 80 per cent reservation for Goans and 10,000 vacancies in the government sector to be filled in three years.

    The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, which is contesting the Goa poll for the first time, forged an alliance with the state’s oldest regional party MGP last month.

    In the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, the MGP won three seats in the 40-member Assembly.

  • Congress to field ‘young and new’ candidates in Goa Assembly polls; first list soon

    By PTI

    PANAJIl: The Congress would announce the first list of its candidates for the upcoming Goa polls by the end of this month, state party president Girish Chodankar said on Sunday and added that a bulk of the nominees would be young and new.

    Addressing a press conference here, Chodankar iterated that MLAs who had defected and joined other parties will not be considered.

    “The process of short-listing candidates for the Goa polls will gather momentum as the AICC has announced a screening committee for Goa. At least 70 to 80 per cent of Congress’ candidates will be young and new,” he said.

    Elections are due in Goa in February next year.

    Chodankar said block committees of the party will be taken into confidence while deciding the candidates.

    “More importance would be given to the candidates recommended by the block committees in respective constituencies,” he said.

    The Congress leader refused to comment on a pre-poll alliance with like-minded parties.

    In the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, the Congress had won the highest 17 seats in the 40-member House restricting the BJP at 13.

    However, the BJP allied with regional parties- GFP and MGP- to form a government under the late Manohar Parrikar.

    Over years, the Congress’ strength dwindled to four as many MLAs switched over to the ruling BJP.

    Faleiro recently joined TMC.