MARGAO
In the 2017 Assembly election, little known Aam Aadmi party heralded its arrival in high profile Benaulim, by finishing the race with a close second position behind NCP candidate Churchill Alemao.
It took the party less than four years to etch a place on the state’s political landscape as the party has finally opened its account by winning the Benaulim Zilla Panchayat seat, by getting the better of the main contenders, NCP and Congress.
Buoyed by the success, AAP Benaulim leader Capt Wenzy Viegas was quick to term the victory in the ZP poll as the first step in Benaulim, saying the success will motivate the party to go across the state with just a year to go for the 2022 Assembly election.
“I am happy that the exercise to change the public mindset has started from Benaulim, where AAP had its first meeting. I am confident that Benaulim will set an example for the entire State,” Wenzy said.
He said AAP’s victory message to the mainstream political players is that the people are actually fed up with them and are looking for a change.
“It is taking time for the people to understand AAP’s message. People of Benaulim have understood the message and people across the state will follow,” he said, while exuding confidence that the victory in Benaulim will help bring out the desired change in politics across the state.
Young Hanzel Fernandes said the people of Benaulim wanted a change in the constituency and they have voted for it.
Expressing his gratitude to the people of Benaulim, Hanzel said that AAP has sent a strong message that the party will move forward to save and protect Goa.
Hanzel’s mother Geraldina, the activist who was the face of the anti-mega housing stir that hit Salcete’s coastal belt over a decade ago, said though his son was new in politics, the entire AAP family stood together behind him in the election.
“We went to the people with a new face and a promise to bring about a change since we all believed that we need to get into the system to cleanse it,” Geraldina said adding that AAP has won the Benaulim seat without distributing goodies or money to the people.
