PANAJI
Of the 'defector' legislators from Tiswadi taluka -- Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate, her husband Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, St Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes and St Andre MLA Francis Silveira -- the electorate left only the Monserrate couple politically unscathed while denting the other two politicians.
In Taleigao, the Monserrate couple managed to overcome the challenge of activist Cecille Rodrigues, the independent who was backed by Aam Aadmi Party and Congress, and ensure victory of their candidate Anjali Naik who they had fielded on BJP ticket. Naik polled 5420 votes while Rodrigues got 3083 in polling which witnessed an unusually low 47-odd per-cent turnout.
It was a rough day for the other two defector MLAs in St Cruz and St Andre assembly segments.
In St Cruz represented by Tony Fernandes, the BJP won one of the two seats “ Chimbel -- with its own cadre Rajesh Uskaikar winning comfortably. However the candidate sponsored by Fernandes in St Cruz ZP seat, Ms Araujo, lost to the Congress candidate Shiny de Oliveira.
The fate of Silveira in neighbouring St Andre was a bit less humiliating with the BJP winning the St Lawrence seat with the saffron partyman Dhaku Madkaikar, who is the brother of the Chumbarjua legislator Pandurang Madkaikar pulling through narrowly.
However the St Cruz ZP seat which partly also covers the St Andre assembly segment with Curca-Bambolim-Telaulim and Guala Moula included in it, was lost by the BJP to the Congress.
