Caption: The victorious Congress candidates Sanjay Velip and Danny Fernandes, who stopped the BJP’s free run in the Guirdolim and Davorlim seats. Congress youngster Malifa Cardozo won the Navelim seat.
MARGAO
The biggest electoral upset witnessed in Salcete on Monday was the total rout of the BJP from the minority-dominated areas in the Zilla Panchayat polls.
Not only did the party fail to retain the Guirdolim and Davorlim seats, but its bid to make inroads into Navelim also came a cropper.
That’s not all. The party’s losing candidate from Davorlim, Satyavijay, suspected that the party’s own leaders were responsible for his defeat in the election. He said he could not digest reports that rival Congress candidate Danny Fernandes won the seat when the opposition campaign was conspicuous by its absence, while he had managed to visit 95 per cent of the electorate.
“I believe that our own party leaders were involved in a game to defeat me. Otherwise, how does one explain that I have polled fewer votes in areas where the party was expected to secure sizeable support?” Satyavijay questioned.
Congress candidate Danny Fernandes, on the other hand, thanked the voters of Guirdolim for electing him to the South Goa Zilla Panchayat. He thanked Navelim Congress leader Cipru Cardozo for recommending his candidature and Opposition leader Yuri Alemao for securing his ticket. Danny also profusely thanked Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai for his strategic support that channelised the anti-BJP vote in his favour.
