MAPUSA
The political temperature in Goa has begun to rise well ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, with former MLA Kiran Kandolkar and Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar trading barbs, signalling an early start to the electoral battle in the Tivim-Aldona belt.
Kandolkar has announced that he will contest the next Assembly election as an independent, saying he rejected approaches from several political parties after gauging the support of his followers.
He said staying outside the party fold would allow him to independently raise issues concerning the constituency. While ruling out an alliance with any political party, Kandolkar said he would support the government on development-related issues if elected. He also indicated that he would back a “like-minded” candidate in Aldona. Kandolkar, however, launched a sharp attack on Halarnkar, taking a swipe at the minister’s development claims. “Breaking coconuts is not development,” he said, asserting that his supporters would work to defeat Halarnkar in the coming election. Halarnkar quickly hit back, dismissing Kandolkar’s challenge and saying he had the backing of CM Pramod Sawant. “I have the blessings of the Chief Minister and therefore I have nothing to fear,” Halarnkar said, while defending his record in the constituency. Responding to Kandolkar’s criticism, he said his work was visible to the people and asked whether the former MLA was “sleeping or awake”. The exchange is significant given the electoral history of the two camps. Kandolkar’s wife, Kavita Kandolkar, contested the 2022 Assembly election from Tivim on a Trinamool Congress ticket but lost to Halarnkar. Kandolkar himself contested the neighbouring Aldona seat on a TMC ticket in the same election but was defeated. With the next Assembly election still months away, the public sparring suggests that the contest in the Tivim-Aldona region could begin early, with Kandolkar seeking to carve out an independent political space and Halarnkar defending his position against an increasingly vocal challenger.
