MARGAO
Benaulim Dando football ground came alive on Monday noon, but for a different reason. There was no football match on the famous grounds, but it turned out a meeting ground of political leaders from two states, closely associated with football and patronage for the popular sport.
As Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao and daughter Valanka made a grand entry into the Trinamool Congress party in the midst of a huge presence of supporters from Benaulim and Navelim, not just Churchill, but TMC supremo Mamata Didi did make a mention of how football is a popular sport in Goa and Bengal.
That’s not all. Mamata Didi and Churchill threw a couple of footballs into the audience, signaling the arrival of Churchill into the TMC, with daughter Valanka in tow.
The duo did touch on the core voter-base, the minorities in their address. Unlike others who have razed down the Church in Delhi, Churchill said Didi has a history of protecting the minorities. Didi too called for inclusiveness to take all people together in the path of development.
In a bid to strike a chord with the Christian minority, the Bengal Chief Minister repeatedly extended her Christmas greetings to the people of Goa. And, to drive home the point that she cares for her minorities, Didi recalled her close association with Mother Tereza and how she had accepted the invitation sent by the Vatican during her canonisation as Saint.
This is the first time that the TMC had an impressive public meeting not just in the State, but has heralded its entry into minority heartland Salcete in a grand way since the Mamata Didi-led party has made its presence felt in the State ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.
Thousands of TMC flags fluttered inside the massive pandal as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Didi descended on the Dando ground to welcome the Churchill-Valanka entry into the party.
Rajya Sabha MP Luizinho Faleiro did the honours of welcoming Churchill and Valanka into the party fold in the presence of Mamata Didi and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, as Churchill’s supporters, including his sarpanchas and panch members from Benaulim constituency closely watching his induction into the TMC.
