PANAJI/BICHOLIM:
Goa Forward Party
(GFP) has announced that its working president and former Tivim MLA
Kiran Kandolkar
will contest the 2022 assembly elections from Aldona, taking on sitting BJP MLA Glenn Ticlo.
Kandolkar and GFP president Vijai Sardesai spent Thursday in Aldona meeting local stakeholders and grassroots workers before making the announcement.
Meanwhile, Kandolkar’s wife Kavita, who is the Colvale zilla panchayat member, will contest from the Tivim constituency on a GFP ticket.
“We have started work to build the party in Aldona constituency under the leadership of Kandolkar. His workers are confident of winning this constituency,” GFP president Vijai Sardesai said.
Kandolkar won the Tivim constituency in 2012 as a BJP ML,A but lost out in 2017 to sitting MLA Nilkant Halarnkar. Halarnkar switched over from Congress to BJP in 2019 after which Kandolkar and his wife quit BJP.
“The party workers have unanimously decided that Tivim constituency will elect a woman for the first time. Kavita, who won the zilla panchayat election from there is the right candidate,” Sardesai said.
GFP has already announced Deepak Kalangutkar as its candidate for Mandrem constituency and is all set to announce Jagdish Bhobe as the candidate for the St Andre constituency.
“For now, we have 12 candidates in mind. I am travelling to all constituencies to begin our campaign and build the party,” Sardesai said.
GFP, which is pushing for an alliance with Congress for the upcoming state assembly polls, is simultaneously making inroads into the constituencies that were represented by Congress.
Mandrem, St Andre and Tivim were represented by Congress till the sitting MLAs switched over to BJP.
Kandolkar, during a visit to Mayem, announced that Santosh Kumar Sawant will be GFP’s Mayem candidate for the elections. He said GFP president
Vijay Sardesai
will visit Mayem constituency on August 29