Mayor, former mayors and sitting councillors among candidates for March 11 polls
BJP-backed panel poses for a group photo after filing nominations from all 30 wards for the Corporation of the City of Panaji elections.
PANAJI
The BJP-backed panel led by local MLA and Revenue Minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate entered the fray for the March 11 CCP elections in full strength. All 30 candidates of the Monserrate Panel submitted their papers, covering each of the 30 wards.
A total of 31 nominations were filed on Friday, the fourth day of the nomination process for the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections scheduled for March 11.
Veteran councillor and former mayor Surendra Furtado was the lone candidate to file his nomination from the Opposition side. Contesting from Ward 9 under the ‘Ami Panjekar’ banner, Furtado will face Kabir Makhija of the Monserrate panel.
With one nomination filed earlier on Thursday, the total number of nominations submitted so far has risen to 32.
Mayor Rohit Monserrate has filed his papers from Ward 4 while former mayor Uday Madkaikar, who returned to the Monserrate fold, is contesting from Ward 13.
Other nominees from the Monserrate panel include Yutika Zambaulikar from Ward number one (Dona Paula), which is reserved for Scheduled Tribe women, and former mayor Carolina Po from the neighbouring OBC (Women) reserved Ward number 2.
Ward number 3, which is also reserved for OBC women, will have Margarida Fernandes as the candidate from the Monserrate panel, while Kishore Sastry will contest the general Ward 5 at Caranzalem.
Bento Lorena has been fielded in Ward number 6, which is reserved for OBC, Sanjiv Desai in the general Ward 7 and Kareena Shirodkar in Ward number 8, which is reserved for OBC women.
Prasad Amonkar has been retained in Ward number 10, while the migrant-dominated Ward 11 will have Tukaram Chinanawar contesting from the Monserrate panel.
Varsha Shetye has been fielded from Ward number 12, Prajyot Vaigankar from Ward number 14, which is reserved for OBC, Shayani Chopdekar from the OBC reserved Ward number 15 and Asmita Kerkar from Ward number 16 reserved for women.
Edward Jorge, a sitting councillor, is retained in Ward number 17, Krishna alias Milind Shirodkar in Ward 18, Nikita Naik in Ward number 19 reserved for women and former mayor Shubham Chodankar has been retained from his Neuginagar Ward number 20.
Manisha Manerkar is retained in her OBC reserved Ward number 21 and multiple-term councillor Diksha Mainkar is retained in the Boca de Vaca Ward number 22.
In Ward number 23, which is reserved for women, the Monserrate panel has fielded Vidhya Gadkar while former mayor Yatin Parekh's son Karan, who is a sitting councillor, has been fielded from Ward number 24.
In the Panaji city Ward number 25, which is reserved for women, a new face Kirti Sakhalakar has been fielded by the Monserrate panel, while former Deputy Mayor Vasant Agshikar has been retained in his traditional Ward number 26 around the Mahalaxmi temple.
Another veteran councillor and former mayor Vithal Chopdekar has been retained in Ward 27, which is reserved for OBC candidates, while Rupesh Halankar has been fielded in Ward 28 of Ribandar.
The Monserrate panel has also retained its councillors in Ward numbers 29 and 30 of Ribandar — Sandra Maria Da Cunha and Silvestre Fernandes.
With the candidates filing their papers for all wards, the Monserrate-led panel has formally entered the electoral contest, which is expected to be a direct contest between the ruling panel and the Opposition, though the latter has so far fielded only one candidate, Furtado.
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Furtado files papers, says can win in any ward
PANAJI: Former mayor Surendra Furtado was targeted by Uday Madkaikar, who said their aim will be to defeat him as well and win all 30 wards, but the former hit back, saying he can win from any of the 30 wards.
Furtado, who was the only candidate from the Opposition 'Ami Panjekar' panel to formally enter the fray on Friday, has had an uninterrupted stint spanning four decades since 1985 in the capital's civic body. He has also held the mayor's post for three one-year terms.
