MARGAO
Husbands and wives in the fray for the Assembly polls is not uncommon in the State. Over half-a-dozen couples are vying for honours at the grassroot panchayat institutions as the battle for the August 10 panchayat draws nearer.
Benaulim along Salcete coastal belt and the panchayat of Aquem-Baixo has the maximum number of couples in the fray. And, not to mention Navelim, where two couples are reportedly in the fray in the ensuing polls.
Welcome to the 11-member Benaulim panchayat. If the panchayat had two elected couples in the panchayat body in the outgoing term, the same faces are back in the fray for the 2022 polls. What’s interesting to note is that both the women presided over the affairs of the panchayat during the last term, indicating the significance of couples held in a body.
Take the case of the Pereira couple, consisting of Xavier and Diella Pereira. Xavier is already elected unopposed to the panchayat body, while Diella is locked in a three-cornered contest against ex-deputy sarpanch and Tiatr Academy of Goa President Menino de Bandar and Savio Castelho in the Mazilwaddo ward.
Local political observers say that after his unopposed re-election, Xavier, who was a former deputy Sarpanch of the village, is likely to throw his hat in the ring for the post of village sarpanch.
On the other hand, the husband-wife duo of David and Vencilla Fernandes is also in the fray again. Vencilla is the outgoing sarpanch of Benaulim, with sources saying the couple is likely to play their due role in the election of a new sarpanch this time round.
At the Aquem-Baixo panchayat in Navelim constituency, as many as three couples are contesting the polls in a bid to make it to the panchayat. BJP leader, former sarpanch Damu Naik and wife Deepa are in the fray for the ensuing polls. Former sarpanch Inacio Dias and wife Pacencia, the outgoing panchayat member, are also in the fray.
That’s not all. The husband-wife duo of Sachin and Manisha are also in the fray for the Aquem-Baixo panchayat.
In Navelim, former sarpanch Paul Pereira is seeking re-election for the panchayat body. Wife Loretta is also contesting the coming polls.
Instances are galore when the husbands, who have been ruled out from the fray after the wards were reserved for women, have fielded their better halves in the ensuing polls.
