MARGAO
The INDIA bloc launched a joint election campaign in support of Congress candidate Captain Viriato Fernandes with party leaders of the Congress, Aam Admi Party, Goa Forward and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) sharing the dais at Benaulim on Monday evening.
This is the first time that the Goa Forward leader Vijai Sardesai joined the INDIA bloc election campaign after returning from London on Sunday. AAP chief Amit Palekar, AAP Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, Congress leaders, GPCC chief Amit Patkar, leader of opposition Yuri Alemao, MLA Altone D’Costa, besides NCP chief Jose Philip D’Souza, and Goa Forward vice-president Durgadas Kamat, attended the meeting in support of Captain Viriato.
In his address, the Goa Forward chief said he had proposed the name of Captain Viriato Fernandes to the Congress High Command six months ago to take on the BJP in South Goa.
Speaking further, Sardesai said he had opposed the BJP’s one-nation one-poll when he was the state’s deputy chief minister and part of the NDA.
Saying the Congress has fielded a candidate who has a proven track record of taking up public issues, Sardesai said the Congress candidate had fought against attempts made by the ruling dispensation to sell Goa. “The Captain is concerned about Goa. He has fought with us on so many issues. He is the right candidate to represent the people of South Goa in Parliament,” he added.
Underscoring the need to vote and elect Viriato to the Lok Sabha, Sardesai said the time has come to save democracy, saying the May 7 Lok Sabha polls may even be the last election in the event the BJP returns to Power.
