the goan I network
PANAJI
The Election Commission is yet to announce the schedule for the impending by-election to the Panaji assembly seat vacant due to former chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s death, but aspirants have already begun queuing up for the party ticket in the Congress.
At least two former mayors, who fought the Panaji seat for the party in the past, have pitched their candidature with the Congress at the bypoll. Yatin Parekh and Surendra Furtado, both of whom unsuccessfully contested as party nominees in 2012 and 2015 (bypoll), are in the race. Also on the party’s radar are a few other party leaders and prominent professionals from the city.
Interestingly, just 20 months ago, there were no takers for the Congress ticket in Panaji. Almost every prospective candidate that the party approached to fight the August 23, 2017 by-election necessitated for Parrikar to fulfill the Constitutional requirement of attaining House membership within six months of taking over as Chief Minister, had said ‘thanks, but no thanks’.
With no local leader willing to contest against Parrikar then, the party was forced to field GPCC chief Girish Chodankar, who was then an All India Congress Committee Secretary working from the office of Congress President, Rahul Gandhi.
Having kept the Congress tally intact at the 5000-vote mark in that by-election, Chodankar too is a natural claimant to the Panaji
