Says candidate selection after SEC reservation exercise
PWD Minister Digambar Kamat making a point at a media briefing at the BJP South Goa district office.
MARGAO
Public Works Department Minister Digambar Kamat on Thursday asserted that the BJP cadre are fully geared up for the upcoming Margao Municipal Council polls.
He further asserted that the government has taken a decision to increase the number of Margao Municipal wards to 27 from 25, saying the decision remains unchanged.
Kamat further ruled out the possibility of the upcoming Municipal elections being held on party lines. He said the party will conduct a survey, if required, to identify the right candidates for the ensuing polls.
Fielding questions from the media on the preparedness for the upcoming Municipal elections, Kamat said, “I am ready for the election. The BJP is ready to face the election anytime. I have no issue.”
To a question on the selection of candidates, the PWD Minister said that candidates will be finalised once the State Election Commission caps seat reservations. “We will undertake the exercise of shortlisting candidates after the SEC completes work on the seat reservations. We should first know which seats will be reserved and for which category,” he said.
He added: “The SEC has been given the mandate to complete the reservation process. In the past, we had gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the seat reservation. That should not happen again. The SEC has now been given the mandate to effect the reservations. The government has no role to play in the process,” he added.
Elections not on party lines
On holding the Municipal polls on party lines, the PWD Minister said it has already been decided that elections for the local bodies, municipalities and panchayats should be free from participation by the political parties.
Saying he and the party is fully geared up for the upcoming polls, Kamat said, “My development is underway in the city. The BJP is fully geared up not just in Margao but across the State. Our cadre and workers are all geared up for the election,” he said.
Saying that only merit and not family raj will matter in the selection of candidates for the civic polls, Kamat said, “I will go by the merit and not family. The role of the ticket aspirants, including his social workers and the expectations of the people will be taken into account before shortlisting the candidate. If required, we will conduct a survey in the candidate selection process,” he added.
Asserting the government has decided to increase the number of Margao Municipal wards to 27 from 25 in the coming polls, Kamat said, “It will make no difference if the number of wards are increased”.
Meanwhile, the PWD Minister has hailed the Union Budget, saying the budget proposals will give a big boost to the country’s bid to become the third largest economy in the world. He said the budget proposals for bio pharma will also benefit Goa given that the State is the hub for a number of pharmaceutical units.
