File photo of Dominic Gaunkar flashing a victory sign after winning the ZP seat for the third time in the 2020 polls.
MARGAO
After attempts to rope in Reginaldo Lourenco came a cropper following the three-time Congress MLA deciding to stay put with the party, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) appears all set to welcome Raia Zilla Panchayat member and ST leader Dominic Gaunkar into the party fold ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.
The three-time Zilla Panchayat member, who had crossed swords with the incumbent Congress MLA in Curtorim in 2012 as an independent candidate informed that he has decided to join AAP in the coming days. “I had discussions with AAP leaders after which I have decided to join the party”, he told ‘The Goan’.
Hailing from the ST community, which has a large presence in the villages of Raia, Curtorim and Rachol in Curtorim constituency, Gaunkar had proved his clout in the constituency, especially in Raia Zilla Panchayat over the last decade and half.
Dominic had maintained his stranglehold over the Raia Zilla Panchayat seat in the last 15 years, winning the seat thrice and once getting his wife elected from the constituency. “When I had contested the Assembly election from Curtorim in 2012, the opposition tried to label me as a candidate backed by the BJP. I had initially planned to contest the coming polls as an independent, but have finally decided to join AAP and contest the ensuing polls on the AAP banner”, Gaunkar said.
AAP leaders pointed out that Gaunkar is a prized catch for the party, as the ZP member will go into the battlefield as a strong candidate against the three-time Congress MLA. In fact, an AAP leader said that AAP’s growing base coupled with Gaunkar’s personal vote bank in the constituency should keep the party in good stead in Curtorim in 2022.
That’s not all. AAP leaders in private said that Gaunkar’s image as an emerging ST leader may also help the party in the neighbouring constituencies, which has a sizeable ST population.
In the 2020 Zilla Panchayat polls, many had perceived Gaunkar, who had contested the polls as an independent candidate and the Congress MLA working together. In fact, the Congress ZP candidate Joseph Vaz had complained to the party leadership against Reginaldo for allegedly working against the party candidate.
Gaunkar, however, made it clear there was no understanding between him and Reginaldo during the ZP polls, saying there was no commitment from him to support the MLA in the Assembly election.
In the 2012 Assembly polls, Reginaldo had retained his seat on the Congress banner by polling around 11221 votes. On the other hand, Dominic’s impressive campaign had ended on a losing note, but not before the Independent MLA polling an impressive 7152 votes, losing to the Congress sitting MLA by a margin of 4069 votes.
