MAPUSA
Upbeat with the Supreme Court order and the subsequent notification of the State Election Commission, the candidates of the BJP panel selected for the election of the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) are gearing up to complete formalities and filing of their nominations.
The BJP panel candidates are expected to file their nominations on the last day, March 6.
Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza presided over a meeting of the 20 selected candidates of the BJP panel at the BJP office in Mapusa on Thursday noon.
All the candidates have been instructed to complete the formalities including opening of a new bank account for the civic election.
The BJP is not expected to announce its panel just yet but the candidates will be asked to complete all the formalities, including filing of their nominations.
“All our candidates have been asked to file nominations. The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce the final order on Tuesday. So, we will wait till the final order and then announce our panel,” D’Souza said.
Meanwhile, the opposition comprising Congress and other like-minded parties and citizens of Mapusa have come together and are ready to give the BJP panel a run for the money.
“Our candidates from like-minded political parties and some citizens of Mapusa have decided to come together under the banner of ‘Mapshekarancho Ekvot’. Some of us will file our nominations tomorrow (Friday),” said Sudhir Kandolkar, a Congressman.
Former chairperson Sudhir Kandolkar, who unsuccessfully contested the Mapusa by-election on Congress ticket, is expected to file his nomination for the election of the Mapusa Municipal Council on Friday.
Another former chairperson and political heavyweight, Subhash Narverkar, said many ex-councillors have joined forces and will contest the civic election as a joint opposition panel.
“There is a possibility of some BJP persons joining our panel,” Narvekar said.
Interestingly, the Nationalist Congress Party has refused to join the opposition panel in Mapusa and plans to support independent candidates.
“First of all, we don’t trust Sudhir Kandolkar whose one foot is in the BJP. The MGP wakes up only during the election while Shiv Sena has no standing whatsoever in Mapusa,” said Sanjay Barde, General Secretary of NCP.
“We will not join the opposition panel but the NCP will support independent candidates in eight wards of Mapusa,” he added.
