the goan I network
MARGAO
Since the 2017 panchayat election, Colva village panchayat headed by Sarpanch Anthony alias Mam Fernandes, was perceived as being controlled by Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao.
Not anymore, so it seems. While Churchill has decided to field Vania Baptista for the Colva Zilla Panchayat seat on the NCP banner, Sarpanch Anthony Mam and his group of panchayat members have all rallied behind Congress nominee and former Colva sarpanch Suzie Fernandes.
That the Colva sarpanch and his group may not support the NCP candidate became evident on Sunday when Anthony was conspicuous by his absence at Churchill’s media briefing to announce Vania’s candidature. In fact, former Colva sarpanch Menino Fernandes and panch member Pio Furtado were the two panchas, who were prominently seen at the briefing.
The Colva sarpanch was not only seen with Suzie at the Congress office on Tuesday, he is believed to have kicked off the Congress candidate’s campaign by calling on whoever that mattered in the Colva ZP constituency, comprising of the villages of Colva, Seraulim, Betalbatim and Majorda.
“We decided to support Suzie as the Congress candidate since Churchill was initially not inclined to field any candidate. After Nelly was ruled out from the fray after Colva seat was reserved for OBC women, we tried to zero in on some candidates,” Anthony said.
Saying that only recently that Churchill called him up to tell that he is fielding his candidate on the NCP banner, the Colva sarpanch said he told the MLA that he and his group of panch members have already given a word to Suzie and ruled out any rethink on the decision.
“We are getting encouraging response from the people of Majorda, Betalbaim, Seraulim and Colva for Suzie’s candidature. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, we had all worked for South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha,” Anthony said, while exuding confidence that people of Colva constituency
will get the Congress candidate elected with comfortable
majority.
