Defeated by Tourism Minister and Saligao MLA Dilip Parulekar’s candidate in the ZP polls in 2015, Goa Forward Party candidate Jayesh Salgaonkar exacted his revenge two years later by defeating the three-time Saligao MLA himself by over 2000 votes.
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PORVORIM
Salgaonkar polled 9735 votes, while Parulekar could only secure 7598 votes. Former MLA Agnelo Fernandes was a distant third with a paltry 1616 votes, while AAP’s Dattatraya Padgaonkar was left with 1330, followed by Rajesh Dabolkar of Shiv
Sena (428).
Incidentally, even NOTA votes (171) fared better than Gajanan Naik of CPI (150).
Speaking to media persons, a jubilant Salgaonkar said: “I was sure to win the elections. There was anger among people which they have channelized it through me. The Congress has helped me by fielding their candidate and pulling BJP votes, while supporters of BJP also helped me in the election,” said Salgaonkar.
For Parulekar, it was a shocking defeat after having polled 9,950 votes and winning Saligao constituency by a margin of 5808 votes in the 2012 elections. A significant reduction in his votes indicates clearly that people were not happy with his performance.
Except for Saligao Panchayat, Parulekar claimed to have had the support of five panchayats of Sangolda, Pillerne, Nerul, Guirim and
Reis Magos.
Incidentally in 2015, Salgaonkar had contested the ZP election but was defeated by Parulekar’s candidate Rupesh Naik. Former MLA Agnelo Fernandes fared poorly after having entered the electoral race at the last moment, but his candidature was expected to dent the votes of Salgaonkar, a former Congress party worker. Salgaonkar, however, proved the pollsters wrong and won.
