PANAJI
The Congress party and its INDIA bloc injected a dose of 'josh' when top leaders and a large crowd of supporters accompanied their North Goa candidate Ramakant Khalap as he walked to the North Goa Collectorate in a procession with drums beating in the background and filed his nomination before Returning Officer Sneha Gite on Wednesday afternoon.
Khalap entered the Collectorate with Opposition Leader, Yuri Alemao, Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares-Ferreira, GPCC chief Amit Patkar and AAP State president, Amit Patkar where he filed the papers before Gite.
Several leaders of the other INDIA bloc allies were also among the crowd in a show of unity.
In brief comments to the media after completing the formalities of filing papers before Gite, Khalap and all the top leaders in brief comments to the media claimed that the campaign in North Goa had taken wings and everywhere they go people are spontaneously coming out in support.
Interestingly, some former Congress MLAs who had severed ties and moved away from the party like ex-Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes and former St Cruz MLA Victor Gonsalves also joined Khalap's nomination filing entourage.
Fernandes told the media that there is huge voter dissatisfaction on the ground as several bad decisions of the Modi-led Centre, including demonetisation and the haphazard implementation of the GST regime, had hit the economy and in turn made life difficult for everybody.
"There is a trend across the country of huge voter dissatisfaction. Even the BJP has begun to feel it which is why they are acting so nervous and resorting to arresting Opposition leaders," Fernandes said.
On the eve of the 2022 assembly elections, Fernandes had quit the Congress party after it alloted the Calangute ticket to Michael Lobo a day after the latter switched over from the BJP. He said he has not rejoined the party but has come to support Khalap who is the INDIA alliance candidate.
Gonsalves, who served the 1989-94 term as MLA of St Cruz, echoed the sentiments expressed by Fernandes and said that the anti-incumbency trend is picking up not just in Goa but across the country.
Earlier on Tuesday, Khalap's rival and incumbent Shripad Naik of the BJP had filed his nomination papers.
A third contender in the fray for the North Goa seat, Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) president, Manoj Parab is expected to file his papers on Thursday.
