the goan I network
PANAJI
The public campaigning by contenders for Sunday’s bypoll for the Panaji Assembly seat ended on a sour note at 5 pm on Friday with the BJP candidate Sidharth Kuncolienkar claiming an attack on his car in a police complaint.
Both Sidharth and his main rival Atanasio Monserrate of the Congress expressed confidence that they would win the prestigious seat which fell vacant following the death of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant meanwhile belittled claims by the Congress about overthrowing his coalition government soon after the May 23 results of the four bypolls - Mandrem, Mapusa, Panaji and Shiroda.
Earlier, senior Congress leaders had claimed at a press conference on Friday morning that the party will get back the mandate which they had first won in 2017 and form the government after May 23.
Sawant said, there is no question of the government falling as the alliance partners and the supporting independent MLAs are intact.
The Congress, he said, should not dream of forming the government as it will never be fulfilled.
Meanwhile, both Kuncalienkar and Monserrate’s electioneering teams were seen moving around in various pockets of Panaji attempting to cover almost every household.
The Aam Aadmi Party and its candidate were seen taking up positions at various vantage points holding up placards with catchy slogans in it’s signature campaign style. A group of workers was also seen campaigning in sporadic parts of the constituency for the fourth candidate of note in the fray, former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar of the Goa Suraksha Manch. The BJP camp raked up the 2016 rape allegation against Monserrate, the victim of which is
mysteriously being reported to be missing from the convent where she had been undergoing rehabilitation since the case hit the news. A court is expected to pass orders on whether to frame charge against the politician or not weeks after the election on June 4.
Campaigning for the Panaji seat, the by-election for which is being held for the first time in 25 years in absence of the late Parrikar, lasted nearly a month.
The Congress on the other hand has targeted Kuncalienkar for alleged graft and lack of transparency in projects related to the Smart City project which he headed for nearly two years.
Polling is scheduled to be held from 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday at 30 booths across the Panaji constituency and political observers expect it to be a contest between Kuncalienkar and Monserrate which will go down to the last vote although AAP’s Naik and GSM’s Velingkar could impact the dynamics of the contest.
