the goan I network
MAPUSA
Goa Forward Party (GFP) President Vijai Sardesai on Wednesday said his party was looking forward to expand its base in Bardez and various options were available for it.
“Certainly, we have to expand. We are looking forward to grow in Bardez,” Sardesai said in the presence of Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo in Mapusa.
He said his view on Joshua D’Souza, son of late Francis D’Souza, was his personal opinion and Goa Forward Party was waiting for BJP to declare its candidate in Mapusa.
“Let’s wait for BJP to decide. In these days, it has become a style of waiting for the election to be declared to announce the candidate. Nobody speaks first. Everyone -- Congress and BJP -- is doing the same thing,” he
said responding to media queries.
“They (BJP) have a system to declare the candidate. Let them declare their choice in Mapusa then we can talk on the issue,” he added.
Goa Forward Party has two MLAs in Bardez “ Vinoda Paliencar (Siolim) and Jayesh Salgaonkar (Saligao) both of whom are ministers in the current coalition government led by BJP.
Both were elected after a strident campaign against the BJP which was led by Vijai Sardesai in the 2017 assembly elections.
The GFP President said Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo was his friend and he would be in the scheme of things over Goa Forward’s future political decisions.
“Michael is always with me. We have not won those two seats (Saligao and Siolim) just like that. We have won those seats with a lot of help of friends. I consider Michael as a friend,” he said.
Its understood that Lobo too has set his sight on at least four seats in Bardez, besides his constituency of Calangute.
