Babush Monserrate has been waiting in the wings for a long
time, with an aim to conquer Panaji. He was held back by
Manohar Parrikar, but now he has jumped at the chance to
throw his hat into the fray. His election manifesto is not that different
from the one that was unveiled during the CCP elections.
It’s ambitious, albeit clichéd “ deal with parking and transport,
clean up the city market and the St Inez creek, restore dilapidated
heritage structures, throw out the casinos, fine tune developmental
projects and also set up a waste management plant in
Taleigao. He plans to bring down Junta House and the adjoining
godown and build a parking facility there. All this sounds
amazing but what he needs to realise, and hopefully he does,
is that as a UGP candidate, should he win, he will have to align
himself with the ruling government to even have a hope of seeing
his manifesto fulfilled. If any entity other than the BJP comes
to power, or a coalition, Babush has a strategic advantage “ he
will be the MLA of Panaji, the capital city. Should the BJP regain
power, he would not have his work cut out for him.
