MARGAO:
Questions are being raised in Salcete countryside whether the grassroots panchayat bodies will bring
about a change of guard, a la the Assembly election, which saw the rout of the then MLAs.
If Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao has extended his support to many a candidate in Benaulim
constituency, his predecessor Caitu Silva and political opponents have joined hands in some of the
wards to ensure the defeat of candidates fielded by the incumbent MLA.
In Navelim constituency, former fisheries minister, Avertano Furtado has fielded his candidates, while the BJP has not lagged behind either. They pose a serious challenge to the candidates, who had overtly or covertly supported the Congress and Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro in the February 4 Assembly election.
The battle for the ballot in the panchayats located in Velim constituency has virtually zeroed in between the supporters of incumbent Congress MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues and his predecessor Benjamin D’Silva.
Though they might have not descended on the battle field in support of their respective candidates, but the battle lines appears drawn amongst their respective supporters.
In Cuncolim and Nuvem, which voted for new faces in the February 4 Assembly election, there’s been a close battle between the supporters of the incumbent MLAs, Clafacio Dias and Wilfred D’Sa respectively and their political opponents.
