Goemakarponn desk
PANAJI: “Having to wait till the 14th-15th phase to announce candidates in Goa shows the bankruptcy of leadership in the Congress. Declaring the ticket for the North Goa constituency to the same person under whose supervision a well-known co-operative bank in Goa was liquidated is like taking the Congress party to the brink in North Goa as in the country,” said BJP spokesperson Giriraj Pai Vernekar while reacting to the late announcement of congress candidates in Goa.
Vernekar added that it is not the opposition but the Congress leaders themselves who are criticising its own candidates. A person who has switched over to most political parties in Goa and has lost the last few elections has been given a ticket from North Goa. In the south, the Congress has fielded a man who lost the assembly against the BJP candidate.
“Just like Rahul Gandhi is being relaunched the centre, there is a desperate attempt to relaunch defeated leaders in Goa as well,” said Vernekar.
The BJP has fielded a veteran Bhandari leader in North Goa, while a woman has been given a chance to represent the BJP in South Goa despite not having political reservations.
Vernekar challenged the Congress to clarify the criteria on which it announced its candidates. The BJP has not only announced its candidates but has also completed a round of its campaign. On the other hand, by the time the first phase of the Congress campaign is completed, the voting will be done, said Vernekar.
Claiming that no criminal case has been registered against the BJP candidates, and neither have they sunk any bank, Vernekar recollected that Ramakant Khalap himself had said that he would vote for Shripad Naik if he was not given a ticket. So, will Congress workers back such a person, asked Vernekar.
The BJP announced tickets to its sitting MP in the first list itself. He added that the Congress had shown MP Fransisco Sardine was incompetent by denying him the ticket despite being the sitting MP.
Congress leader Vijay Bhike has said that the party is heading towards bankruptcy. He has also admitted that his allies are taking the Congress in that direction, claimed Vernekar.
Vernekar concluded by saying that the BJP’s campaign will not depend on the candidates of the opposition but through the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years, the work of the BJP cadre and the dream of a Vikasit Bharat.
