MARGAO
Six days after the INDIA bloc romped home to victory in the Lok Sabha poll for the South Goa seat, the alliance has come under scanner with Congress general secretary Royla Fernandes deciding to cross swords against the alliance candidate from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the June 23 by-poll for the Benaulim Zilla Panchayat.
In fact, Royla, who had finished runner-up in the 2020 ZP polls before she filed a disqualification petition against AAP ZP member Hanzel Fernandes, has thundered that the Benaulim Alliance will take on the INDI Alliance in the ensuing by-poll.
Even as AAP leaders comprising of party president Amit Palekar and Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas announced Joseph Pimenta as the INDI Alliance candidate for the Benaulim by-poll, the Congress general secretary Royla told the media that she has decided to throw her hat in the by-poll ring to protect the interests of the Congress and Congressmen in Benaulim.
She said that the INDI Alliance was formed at the national level with a specific purpose to keep the BJP and the NDA out of power in order to save the constitution and democracy. “What we are fighting in Benaulim on June 23 is a by-election for the Zilla Panchayat and not something to protect the country’s constitution. As far as possible, elections to the grassroots panchayat bodies should be best left to be fought by the people and not by the political parties,” she said.
Saying that she and like-minded people of Benaulim constituency have decided to come together under the banner of Benaulim Alliance to fight the June 23 ZP by-poll, Royla said she has been told by the people to fight the election as an independent after the Congress leaders did not respond to the proposal from the block to shortlist candidates for the coming election.
“We have all come together, including people who had supported the Congress in the 2020 ZP election and the 2022 Assembly election to contest the June 23 by-poll. We have all done this in the interest of the Congress party. We all love the Congress and we have to save the Congress in Benaulim. The Congress still has a lot of support amongst the people of Benaulim,” she said.
Reminding that the AAP has decided to go alone in the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections, Royla said there is nothing wrong with the party's decision to go alone since the INDI Alliance was stitched to fight the Lok Sabha polls. “We expected the Congress to take a similar decision. Surprisingly, the Congress leaders did not take a decision in the interest of the Congress, but have decided to support INDI Alliance candidate for the Benaulim by-poll,” she said.
