the goan I network
MAPUSA
In Bardez, all eyes will be on Calangute Panchayat and the performance of the panels fielded by local MLA, Michael Lobo and his bitter opponent and former sarpanch, Joseph Sequeira.
Will Sequeira make it for the seventh term in running or will Lobo end his bête noire’s successful run in panchayat politics.
During the campaign, the once friends turned foes left no stone unturned to woo voters in the village to gain upper hand for their respective panels in Calangute.
Lobo has fielded panels in Calangute and Candolim and expects to gain majority in both the villages.
“In Calangute, at least 7 to 8 members from my panel will sail through, while in Candolim I expect all 11 members to emerge victorious,” Lobo said.
If the campaign strategy is of any indication, the local MLA appears to have made it a matter of prestige to gain a foothold and install a sarpanch of his choice in the coastal panchayat which has eluded him so far.
Besides moving door to door, Lobo has appealed to the people of Calangute to not only “vote for change but to be the change”.
“On June 13, Joseph Sequeira will be history from the helm of Calangute Panchayat,” Lobo said brimming with confidence.
“For the last 10 days I have met so many people. I get the feeling that people of Calangute want change and the change will be for the betterment of the village,” he said.
But former sarpanch, Joseph Sequeira is not an ordinary politician. He has withered many a storm and managed to keep a stranglehold over the Calangute Panchayat.
This time, though Sequeira is facing the most crucial test in his career where his political survival is under a threat.
Fresh from the defeat in the assembly polls to a much junior politician, a loss in the panchayat will be a further blow to his ambitions.
Having to face a hostile delimitation and the reservation process, the former sarpanch had his back to the wall with the local MLA’s political clout and resources.
Sequeira had moved the High Court on the delimitation process and even complained to the State Election Commission against use of official machinery by the local MLA. But despite all odds, the former sarpanch managed to retain a smiling face on election day and proclaimed that he would emerge unscathed.
“I will win from my ward and my panel will also win the elections,” Sequeira told The Goan. Sources say that during the campaign, the former sarpanch has managed to match his opponent in terms of resources but since the odds were stacked against him, his campaign was confined within his and a couple of his members.
Tuesday the June 13th will decide whether Sequeira will wither the storm or will Lobo finally break the Calangute Panchayat citadel.
