PANAJI
The Congress’ Lok Sabha election in-charge in Goa, Manikrao Thakare on Sunday said there was no demand to deny renomination to sitting MP Francisco Sardinha, placed before him by Goa Forward Party president and Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai.
Thakare told The Goan on Sunday that Sardesai has not said not to field Sardinha.
“He has supported the INDIA bloc and has given us necessary inputs,” Thakare said, adding that the Fatorda legislator has given an assurance that he will support the alliance.
Sardesai had met Thakare in Panaji on Saturday in connection with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after he had skipped last Thursday’s meeting, the latter had held with leaders of all constituent partners of the INDIA bloc in Goa.
He was reportedly out of station attending the wedding of a friend but GFP vice-president Durgadas Kamat was present.
In the recent past, Sardesai had publicly made disparaging comments on the candidature of Sardinha for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and his party had even hinted that it would stay away if the Congress renominated the sitting MP.
In comments made to the media again on Sunday, Sardesai reiterated that he is firm on his position that Congress should not renominate Sardinha.
He none-the-less shied away from making it the pre-condition for his party’s support to the Congress in the elections, adding however that he has given Thakare inputs for the Congress to win South Goa in the State’s current political situation.
Interestingly, back in 2014 too Sardesai had put a spoke in the Congress’ renomination of Sardinha for the South Goa seat. The former chief minister, who was also the sitting MP then, was denied renomination by the Congress at the eleventh hour on the back of a campaign by Sardesai who had propped up Curtorim MLA, Aleixo Reginald Lourenco as the alternative.
The Congress gamble had however failed then, and Lourenco lost to the BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar by a hefty 30,000-plus vote margin.
