MARGAO
Even as the Congress has been grappling with the task of zeroing in on the right candidate for the Nuvem seat, a former Nuvem Sarpanch Pausilipo Dourado has staked his claim for the Congress ticket to contest the ensuing pols.
In fact, Dourado, whose photograph was recently seen with Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, said he has petitioned to Congress Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao with a plea to nominate him for Nuvem.
Dourada pointed out that he did not join the Aam Aadmi Party, but had made a courtesy call on Arvind Kejriwal during his visit to the State.
Saying he had held various positions in the Youth Congress under the leadership of then-president Girish Chodankar, Dourado said he was elevated to the post of Goa Pradesh Youth Congress Vice President since he along with Girish Chodankar has taken up many agitations against the then BJP ruled government in Goa and NDA government at the Centre which has bolstered Congress party's position in Goa and then the party could gain an absolute majority of 21 seats.
Dourado said he had contested the 2007 Assembly election from then Loutolim constituency as an Independent after his claim for the Congress ticket was turned down by the party leadership.
“In the 2012 elections, Congress leaders requested me to re-join the party and I reconsidered my decision and I re-joined Congress and supported my political rival Sequeira which is evident by the newspaper cuttings. And in 2020, when the ZP elections were declared, the Congress MLA who was elected had joined BJP and the vacuum was created to fill the ZP Congress candidate from the Nuvem constituency. Then I along with Tony D'Costa (ex-Sarpanch of Verna), Everson Vales (Congress Secretary) and Jose (Raju) Cabral fielded Assusiana Roman Rodrigues as a Congress candidate and worked tirelessly for her victory”, he said.
