PANAJI: With an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections in 2017, unattached St Cruz MLA Atanasio Babush Monserrate on Saturday disclosed his intention to form a new party along with his former colleagues and some new faces.
Monserrate said that while Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was an option till recently, he is now looking to float a new front altogether.
“There is no question of joining anyone as I will be floating my own party. I have got a good rapport with everyone. I have my colleagues, my former colleagues and I have been talking to them. That is how I am looking at things. I think it will be more crystallized after the municipality elections,” he stated while talking to media persons in Taleigao.
Monserrate stated, “I am coming up with the new party in the interest of Goa and its people.”
He said that the new party could be a blend of all and said, “It should be a combination because I am not claiming that I will contest all 40 seats but I am looking at enough seats so that no one can form a government.”
Monserrate was expelled from Congress for six years in March by All India Congress Committee for anti-party activities during the Panaji by-polls that saw Sidharth Kunkolienkar winning the constituency by over 5,000 votes clocking 9,989 votes.
Soon after being expelled, he had disclosed that he would be open to joining any party, including the ruling BJP or MGP.
Since October this year, Babush had been in talks with leaders of Nationalist Congress Party at state as well as at the national level in a bid to join the party. Sources revealed that Babush is set to continue this line of deliberation with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar after Pawar's birthday on December 12.
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PARTY IN THE MAKING
* Will be more crystalised after the municipality elections
* A new party in the "interest of Goa and its people”
* Babush says the new party could be a blend of all
* Looking at enough seats, says the unattached St Cruz MLA
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I am coming up with the new party in the interest of Goa and its people
- Babush Monserrate
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HC MOVED FOR EARLY
NOTIFICATION OF
WARD DELIMITATION
Meanwhile, Monserrate and two CCP corporators have moved the High Court seeking notification to delimitation of wards and reservation of seats in Panaji, at least 30 days prior to the date fixed for filing of nominations for the upcoming CCP elections.
Monserrate, along with CCP Corporators Krishna Shirodkar and Prajyot Vaingankar, have in a PIL stated about the delay by the two respondents “ Directorate of Municipal Administration and Goa State Election Commission - in declaring delimitation and reservations which consequently denies candidates from getting sufficient time to prepare for the elections.
The petitioners have also stated that the delay tactics via the Directorate of Municipal Administrationin have been adopted in the past to take undue advantage over other contesting candidates.
Speaking to The Goan, Monserrate said, “The delimitation and reservation of wards is done at the last moment. They don’t give an opportunity to the prospective candidates to be prepared. They try to show their strength. All the governments have done the same. I want the court to intervene and direct EC that at least a month’s time should be given to the candidates for all the preparations to be taken care of. Many people have filed such writ petitions before. The difference is that in this case, the government hardly gives you time of two to three days. Once the elections process starts, the EC can’t interfere and gives the government benefit of doubt. Let the decision come now and this decision will help all the elections in the future as well.”
