the goan I network
PERNEM
Former union minister and Congress leader Ramakant Khalap on Tuesday expressed his interest in contesting the Mandrem bypoll and defeating the BJP candidate, if given the party ticket and was confident that the Congress candidate would win by about 17,000 votes.
Addressing a news conference, Khalap said, “I have taken a definite stand in the Goa assembly elections in 2017 and there is no change. I will work for the victory of Congress candidate in Mandrem and if the party asks me to contest, I am willing to do so.”
“Former MLA Dayanand Sopte betrayed the trust of Congress voters and if he is facing people of Mandrem as a BJP candidate. He must be defeated to stop the BJP. If the defectors are defeated in the Mandrem and Shiroda bypolls, the Congress can form the government,” Khalap said.
Khalap told reporters that government grants to the Mandrem college and the mining issue are main issue which would be highlighted during the Mandrem bypoll campaigning.
