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NOMINATIONS
FROM TODAY
Nominations for the March 06 Corporation of the City of Panaji polls begin today (Tuesday) at 11 am at the office of the Deputy Collector and Sub Divisional Magistrate at Panaji.
This time round, candidates are expected to submit a record of their expenses within 30 days of the completion of the election and have to create a separate bank account for the purpose.
According to the order issued by the State Election Commissioner, each candidate will have to record his or her expenses in a register duly numbered and authenticated by the Returning Officer as well as vouchers receipts bills, etc. and scrutinized from time to time by the Returning Officer.
Candidates who default are liable to be disqualified by the State Election Commission.
Candidates have a limit of ₹2.50 lakh on expenses during the election.
Sabaji Shetye, the Managing Director of the Goa Housing Board will be the election observer, while Panaji Deputy Collector will be the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer will accept nominations from 11 am to 2pm between February 9 and February 16 from 11 am to 2pm except on Sunday February 14.
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PANAJI: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections are proving to be a much harder nut to crack for established political parties -- the Congress and the BJP, both considered the mainstay political parties in the State falling behind local hero Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate of Taleigao, who’s brimming with confidence.
While the BJP, on record, said that the party was waiting for the inauspicious ‘Paush’ month to end to declare their candidates in the hope that it will bring them better luck at the hustings, the Congress which decided very late in the day to contest, has said that they will arrive at a decision within a day or two.
Monserrate was the first to declare his panel with the first names being released on February 1, followed by the rest of the candidates the very next day.
Babush made a statement of intent ahead of the elections when he approached the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking a timely delimitation of the wards of Panaji at least one month prior to the date of filing of nominations.
“My fight is against BJP. It is the anti-Babush votes that will be split between the remaining panels. Hence, the more people stand for elections, better it is for my panel,” Monserrate told The Goan when confronted with the fact that he will be up against not just the BJP, which is his primary foe but also the Congress, which late in the day decided to field a batch of candidates of his own.
Babush has, however, managed to bring into his camp former Panaji Mayor Surendra Furtado a loyal Congressman who was Congress’ candidate for the Panaji by polls and his wife along with him in a bid to lessen the number of people he is up against.
The BJP, on the other hand, which appears a divided house, but one with a brave face, took refuge behind the fact that an inasupicious month was a bad time to declare candidates.
“The delay in declaring the candidates for CCP polls is because we are in ‘Paush’ month. There is no other reason. After ‘Amavasya’ (New Moon) on Monday, the party would formally announce its 30 candidates” he said at a press conference held in the city,” party president Vinay Tendulkar said at a press conference. The party is expected to declare its list of candidates on Tuesday.
The Congress on the other hand announced that it will rely on new but reliable faces with the senior members choosing to take a back seat and provide direction to the new faces. “99% of our faces will be new. Barring one or two all new faces have been picked,” a Congress source said.
Party leader and sitting councillor Rudresh Chodankar said that besides himself former mayor Tony Rodrigues will be guiding the party with Tony taking charge of the Taleigao areas and Chodankar providing insight to the candidates in the Panaji area.
Yet to make sounds this election is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which while stating its intent, is yet to formally announce whether they will back candidates this elections or not.
