the goan I networkrMARGAO r rBoth Wilfred and Mickky -- who had opposed each other in the Zilla Panchayat election, followed by the 2017 Assembly poll, when Wilfred put an end to Mickky’s dream run -- have only exuded confidence of retaining their hold in their respective village panchayats. Both appeared to have not left anything for chance in the ongoing election to not only to have their men control the panchayat bodies in their home villages, but also make a dent in each others territories.rSays MLA Wilfred D’Sa: “I am confident that our supporters will make a clean sweep of election for the Nuvem Panchayat body. Going by the support extended by the people, I can say with confidence that we will win in all the 11 wards.” rWilfred’s wife Freda is seeking re-election from Guirim, which has been a stronghold of the D’Sa’s for a long time now. The MLA has fielded his own panel of candidates for the Nuvem seat and the panchayat election will indicate whether he has retained his support base, which had rallied behind him in the February 4 Assembly election. While Wilfred is confident of retaining his hold over the Nuvem Panchayat, he has firmly set his eyes on the Betalbatim panchayat body as well. While he claimed that he has not fielded any panel of candidates for Betalbatim, he makes no bones of the fact that he has extended his support to the local villagers, opposed to Mickky, in a bid to wrest the panchayat from the rformer MLA.rMickky, on the other hand, has asserted that no efforts by his opponents will take away the Betalbatim panchayat from him. Even though reports say that the candidate elected unopposed do not belong to his camp, Mickky has exuded confidence to retaining his hold over Betalbatim. “I have trust and faith in the people of Betalbatim. My supporters will win hands down and form the Panchayat body when the ballots are taken up for counting on Sunday,” Mickky said. rIn the seven-member Betalbatim panchayat, the rival groups have a task cut out to win four seats to rule the village in the next five years and Mickky exuded confidence that his group will achieve the target hands down.rAnd, he does not make any secret of the fact that a host of candidates belonging to his camp are in the fray for the 11-member Nuvem village panchayat “ the home village of his bete noire and MLA rWilfred D’Sa.
Power play: Wilfred, Mickky confident of retaining hold over panchayats
Tomorrow’s election for the two OBC reserved wards of Betalbatim and the lone Kirbhat ward of Nuvem may not appear significant in the scheme of things. But, counting of ballots for these two panchayat bodies on Sunday holds immense significance for arch political rivals “ Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa and his predecessor Mickky Pacheco “ as the results will not only indicate their support base on their home turf, but whether they have made inroads in each others territories.
