CANACONA
Maintaining that the BJP ticket for him to contest the Canacona assembly seat is a foregone conclusion, Deputy Speaker and Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes said it would be in BJP’s own interest not to deny tickets to sitting MLAs at the forthcoming assembly elections.
Speaking to The Goan, Fernandes said he had raised the issue of party nominations to all MLAs who had helped BJP to form and made the government stronger during his meeting with BJP's election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis.
“Fadnavis was quick to reply, 'who is denying you the BJP ticket, who said you all will not get to contest on BJP ticket?' I clearly told Fadnavis there is a person in the state party affairs who is indirectly floating such messages to Karyakartas,” said Fernandes.
“However, Fadnavis in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, BJP State President Sadanand Tanawade and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar clearly told me that all who had come into the party fold to help run BJP government in the State would be given party nominations to contest the forthcoming assembly elections.”
Fernandes recalled that when a group of 10 former Congres MLAs had joined the BJP, their conditions were for the government to develop their constituencies and party nominations to contest the next assembly elections.
“It is in BJP’s own interest not to deny party nominations for its sitting MLAs, especially all those MLAs who left other parties and joined the BJP, to contest on the BJP ticket,” said Fernandes.
“I did not plead with Fadnavis for the party ticket, but only made him aware of the party’s commitment to the MLAs who had joined the BJP. I will contest the 2022 elections based on the strength of my voters and supporters.
Incidentally, former minister and BJP State Vice President Ramesh Tawadkar has also claimed that the BJP leadership has asked him to start preparations to contest the 2022 assembly elections.
When asked to comment on BJP’s denial of a party ticket to a minister (Ramesh Tawadkar) in 2017 and whether the party could also repeat the same by denying a ticket to him, Fernandes replied in the negative.
“The situation today is different from what it was in 2017. If sitting MLAs are denied the BJP nomination, the repercussions will be for all those MLAs who left their parties to join the BJP government,” he added.
