PANAJI: Most of the comeback boys shortly poised to return to the Goa legislative assembly are from the Congress party or have been associated with it at one time or the other.
Led by Goa Pradesh Congress committee (GPCC) president, Luizinho Faleiro, a few Congress leaders have got another lease of political life after a term or two in wilderness. A few battle-scarred veterans, especially Churchill Alemao of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the giant-killer Dayanand Sopte of Congress and a few others are likely to savour their wins, crafted under challenging situations.
Sopte is sure to relish his Goliath-like slaying of outgoing chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar in Mandrem. The former BJP MLA, who won by a comfortable 7,119 vote margin, had tasted defeat at the hands of Parsekar in the 2012 polls.
Alemao, a former Congress MLA and former chief minister had a tainted image after he was allegedly implicated in the Louis Berger bribery case. In Benaulim, where Alemao won with a 5,191 vote margin, he faced seven candidates, including sitting MLA Caitu D’Silva and AAP candidate Royla Fernandes who emerged second.
GPCC president Faleiro, who spent many years in north east India fashioning the Grand Old Party’s wins over there, is returning to Goa politics after a decade. Somebody who keeps his cards close to his chest, Faleiro defeated his former close associate and fisheries minister Avertano Furtado by a 2,478 vote margin, in his bastion of Navelim. Faleiro has been elected five times from Navelim constituency, including one unanimous win in 1989.
Another veteran, Subhash Shirodkar had been away from the assembly for a decade, but managed to rout the industries minister, his one-time former private secretary and nemesis Mahadev Naik by 4,870 votes
Isidore Fernandes, another old-timer, is also returning to the House after a decade. Former chief minister Ravi Naik, water resources minister Felipe Neri Rodrigues, Nilkanth Halarnkar, Francis Silveira, former Congress MLA and MGP nominee Manohar Azgaonkar are all returning to the assembly after five years.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Paul Fernandes, assistant editor (environment) at The Times of In...
Read MorePaul Fernandes, assistant editor (environment) at The Times of India, Goa, has more than two decades of experience behind him. He writes on social, environmental, heritage, archaeological and other issues. His hobbies are music, trekking, adventure and sports, especially football.
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