PANAJI
In one of the most telling aspects of 'Verdict 2022', the electorate has voted with a vengeance and defeated nine of thirteen legislators who defected to the ruling BJP from the Congress and the MGP in the last term.
Of the 11 Congress defectors, only four retained their seats -- Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate (Taleigao), her husband Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate (Panaji), Ravi Naik (Ponda) and Nilkanth Halarnkar (Thivim). All of them were nominated by the BJP, their new party.
Of the balance seven defectors, four were re-nominated by the BJP but lost -- Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar (Quepem), Antonio Fernandes (St Cruz), Francis Silveira (St Andre) and Clafasio Dias (Cuncolim). Three others who were defeated -- Wilfred D'Sa (Nuvem), Filipe Neri Rodrigues (Velim) and Isidore Fernandes (Canacona) -- had not re-contested on the BJP ticket.
The two defectors from the MGP -- Deputy Chief Minsiter Manohar (Babu) Ajgaonkar and former PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar -- were also defeated.
While Ajgaonkar was re-nominated by the BJP but shifted from Pernem to Margao where he lost to Opposition Leader Digambar Kamat, Pauskar was denied the BJP ticket, contested as an independent and was defeated by his predecessor Ganesh Gaonkar.
