MARGAO
Maintaining that he remains a Congress member, former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes on Tuesday said the people of Cuncolim have proposed his candidature for the 2027 Assembly election from the constituency.
Claiming Cuncolkars would once again make history, Gomes said, “Let the people of the remaining 39 constituencies create history by finalising their candidates of choice.”
He added, “The people of Cuncolim have made their choice. They want me to contest. If the Congress believes in fielding candidates of the people’s choice, nobody can stop it from doing so. If it ignores the sentiments of the people, they will field their own candidate.”
Rejecting GPCC president Girish Chodankar’s allegation that he is part of the BJP’s alleged Rs 100-crore plan to split Congress votes, Gomes said Chodankar was “better placed to answer who is funding whom”. “As far as I am concerned, I am the choice of the people of Cuncolim. I am not part of the new party,” he said.
Asked whether the Congress would field him from Cuncolim despite the seat being represented by Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao, Gomes replied, “If the Congress president can change the party president after four-and-a-half years, nothing stops the party from changing its candidate and respecting the sentiments of the people.”
