the goan I network
MARGAO
After a rout in the 2017 Assembly election, the BJP flag will fly again in minority Salcete, thanks to the three Congress MLAs, Filipe Neri Rodrigues, Clafacio Dias and Wilfred D’Sa, who have all embraced the ruling party with the 10-mmeber group of Congress MLAs on Wednesday.
After the latest political development, the BJP will have representations in three Assembly segments of Velim, Cuncolim and Nuvem, while the Congress tally of six seats in Salcete will now be reduced to three in Margao, Navelim, Curtorim. The remaining two seats of Fatorda and Benaulim are being represented by Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai and NCP MLA Churchil Alemao respectively.
Velim MLA Filipe Neri is not new in flirting with the BJP after having extended support to the BJP government headed by former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in 2002-2005 during his stint as an Independent MLA.
Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias and Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa, however, are both first time MLAs and has moved out of the party to embrace the BJP. While rumours have been doing the rounds in recent weeks that Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias may embrace the BJP any time, the decision by the Nuvem MLA Wilfred to quit the Congress to join the BJP must have come as a big surprise for many a political observer in Salcete.
Both Clafacio and Wilfred were given Congress tickets by the Congress leadership during the tenure of then GPCC Chief Luizinho Falerio by denying the party tickets to party veterans, Joaquim Alemao and Alexio Sequeira as part of the party’s ambitious plan to infuse new and young blood in the Congress.
Sources in the know said Clafacio had been keeping his close supporters in the loop over his proposed plan to leave the Congress to join the BJP. He, however, had made it quite clear to his supporters that he would leave the Congress only in the event the 10-member Congress group would move out of the Congress.
As far as the Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa is concerned, sources said his decision to move out of the Congress has come as a shock and surprise for many for the simple reason that he was not part of the 10-member group of Congress MLAs. It is learnt that at least 2-3 Congress MLAs, who have moved out of the Congress on Wednesday, were believed to have descended at Nuvem last night in a bid to convince Wilfred to be party of the group so that they need not resign as MLAs, but have only to embrace the BJP after splitting from the Congress.
