VASCO
An unusual tussle has erupted among two BJP legislators in Ward 21 of Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC), with both MLAs staking claim to the same ward and fielding their own candidates for the ward election.
While Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida has fielded Devita Arolkar, Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho is backing Nutan Shinde in the same ward.
The political tension among Almeida and Godinho has arisen on account of the delimitation, as part of Ward 21 falls in Vasco constituency represented by Almeida, while the remaining part falls in the Dabolim constituency represented by Godinho.
To make matters worse for Godinho, Almeida declared his panel of candidates on Thursday and even got Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to inaugurate the office of his candidate Devita Arolkar in Ward 21.
A livid Mauvin Godinho accused Almeida of misguiding Sawant to inaugurate the office of Arolkar and added that his candidate, Nutan Shinde, would win the polls from Ward 21.
Shortly after inaugurating the election office of candidate Nutan Shinde in the presence of ZP Member Anita Thorat, reporters asked Godinho to justify the CM's inauguration of Devita Arolkar's election office in Ward 21.
"The situation is such that half of this ward falls in Dabolim constituency and I have fielded my candidate, Nutan Shinde,” explained Godinho.
“The inauguration of an election office of another candidate in this ward was because the chief minister was misguided into thinking that the candidate was from Ward 20 and he personally told me this.”
“On realising this, the chief minister, left from there and when I called him, he did not wish to make a controversy on this issue.”
“We have our candidate, Nutan Shinde, in Ward 21 and we are confident that she will win the election from this ward," said Godinho.
