Congress hands Mandrem ticket to Babi Bagkar

PANAJI/MAPUSA: Congress finally declared party loyalist Babi Bagkar as the candidate for the

Mandrem

byelections, leaving the 58-year-old party vice-president with just two days to file his nomination papers.


Bagkar succeeded in bagging the ticket after hectic deliberations and parleys with the senior party leadership. Former Union minister and Mandrem leader Ramakant Khalap was a frontrunner for the ticket but the party high command appears to have decided to go with Bagkar, who has never contested assembly elections.

“The party could have declared all the three constituencies together but because in

Mapusa

an outside candidate was brought in, the party wanted to balance it in Mandrem,” said a party functionary. “Bagkar got the ticket because he has worked. He has organised rallies right from 2012, even after we lost there.”

Bagkar will take on former Congress MLA

Dayanand Sopte

, who resigned as MLA to join BJP, necessitating the April 23 bypolls.

Congress is counting on the support of former BJP alliance partner Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in the bypolls, even though no formal pact has been arrived at by the two parties.

The decision to opt for Bagkar was backed by the

North Goa District

Congress Committee which felt that Bagkar should be given his due.

Congress had been in a dilemma over the last two weeks over who it should select as its candidate. Sachin Parab, son of former education minister Sangeeta Parab, was a strong contender for the ticket as well but ultimately he lost out in the race.

Last week, the situation appeared in favour of Khalap but the party was divided. There was a strong group backing Bagkar. Within the Congress headquarters, Khalap’s supporters were squared up against Babi Bagkar and Sachin Parab.