MARGAO
A day after the Congress declared Mahila Congress chief Pratima Coutinho as the party candidate for the Navelim Zilla Panchayat polls, the party is on the job to mobilize the heavyweights as well as the rank and file to bolster her poll campaign.
Monday saw GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar, PCC Vice-president Altinho Gomes and district president Joe Dias addressing the media in support of Pratima’s candidature.
The party has also chalked out plans to get the party leaders hailing from Navelim and outside, including local MLA Luizinho Faleiro, to accompany Pratima to the office of the Returning Officer for filing her nomination papers.
The GPCC Chief said that the party zeroed in on Pratima as the party candidate for the Navelim seat based on the feedback from workers of the constituency. “Pratima is a popular political figure known all over for her protests against the government. She was hesitant to contest the ZP by-poll, but the party state and central leadership insisted that she should,” he said.
When asked whether the party had no other candidate in Navelim and had to import Pratima, who till recently was a voter of Margao municipality, Girish begged to differ. He said that Pratima had been a resident of Navelim for the last 20 years, adding that the party had zeroed in on her since day one and hence did not look out for other options.
“We have no doubt that Navelim voters will rally behind Pratima and the Congress in the election,” he said, adding that many leaders, including late Manohar Parrikar, had contested from Panaji despite being a resident of Mapusa.
District president, Joe Dias, said the party leaders will all descend in the four villages of Navelim, Telaulim, Dramapur-Sirlim and Sarzora to drum up support for Pratima.
Pratima said she finally accepted the Congress’s request to contest the ZP by-poll as the party’s loyal soldier.
“This is not the time to run away from battle. The Congress-turned-BJP MLAs have even told the SC the Congress does not exist in Goa. We want to prove to the BJP government the party has support base across Goa,” she added. When asked whether she has given up her plans to contest the Assembly election, she said she is just 40 and has a bright future in the party.
