Birthday boy Sopte files nomination, pegs net worth at Rs 3.2 crore

MAPUSA

: BJP candidate for Mandrem

Dayanand Sopte

filed his nomination before the returning officer on his 55th birthday on Tuesday, in the presence of chief minister Pramod Sawant, BJP state president Vinay Tendulkar and a host of supporters.


Former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who had initially threatened to revolt over Sopte’s induction into the party, didn’t attend the event.

As per his affidavit, BJP’s Mandrem candidate is worth approximately Rs 3.2 crore. He has declared Rs 2 crore in movable assets and Rs 1.2 crore in immovable assets.

Sopte was elected as a Congress candidate from the Mandrem constituency in the February 2017 assembly elections, defeating then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar by over 7,000 votes. In October, he and former state Congress president

Subhash Shirodkar

who represented Shiroda switched to BJP, leading to bypolls in the two constituencies.

Sawant said BJP would win the Mandrem seat by a huge margin. “Dayanand

Sopte

is originally from BJP and we welcome him in the fold. He has joined BJP with the sole intention of developing Mandrem and your strong presence shows that we will win,” Sawant told party supporters before leaving for Mapusa to witness Joshua D’Souza file his nomination for the bypoll there.

“Though some may say this byelection has been imposed on the people, your strong presence shows that my decision is acceptable,” Sopte said after seeking the blessings of Shree Devi Bhagvati before filing his nomination. He was confident that his supporters in the constituency’s 46 booths and 9 panchayats would throw their weight behind him.

When Parsekar had raised the banner of revolt, he had claimed to have had the support of the booth level karyakartas. He had also claimed that his supporters had egged him on to contest the Mandrem bypoll as an independent if BJP failed to give him the ticket. Before he changed his mind, reasons for which are not yet known, Parsekar had had at least two meetings with his core supporters to decide on his electoral plans.