PANAJI
The Department of Municipal Administration has notified that the inaugural meeting of the newly elected council of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) will be held on March 30 at 11 am, where the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and key statutory committees will be elected.
Current Mayor Rohit Monserrate, son of Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, is widely expected to be re‑elected for the sixth consecutive year. His dominance in city politics has been unchallenged, with the Monserrate panel consolidating its grip on the CCP, winning 27 of the 30 wards at the March 11 election.
The deputy mayor’s post, meanwhile, is likely to be filled by one of the women councillors from the BJP‑backed panel. This move is seen as both a nod to gender representation and a strategic balancing act within the ruling group.
The elections for the 30 CCP wards were held on March 11, with results declared on March 13. The BJP-backed Monserrate‑led panel swept 27 wards, leaving just three for the rival Ami Ponjekar panel, numbers which have set the stage for a predictable outcome.
The March 30 meeting, meanwhile, will not only reaffirm Rohit Monserrate’s hold on the mayoral chair but also provide him a launchpad for his MLA election ambition hinted at by his father in a post-CCP election interview.
For Panaji’s residents, the outcome may be a foregone conclusion, but the politics behind it remains a telling reflection of power, loyalty, and legacy.
