Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar has lauded the Congress party’s three MLAs for taking an active role in ensuring the victory of Zilla Panchayat candidates from their respective constituencies, a move he said was rare in the state’s political history.
Chodankar remarked that Congress legislators had traditionally stayed away from Zilla Panchayat elections and, in some instances, were even reluctant about the party contesting the polls on its own symbol. He noted that this trend appeared to have changed in the recent elections.
Recalling earlier polls, Chodankar said that even in the 2020 Zilla Panchayat elections, when the party was led by him as GPCC chief along with then Opposition Leader Digambar Kamat, Congress MLAs had not actively participated in the campaign. As a result, the party managed to secure only four seats — three in South Goa and one in North Goa.
He credited Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao and MLAs Altone D’Costa and Carlos Alvares for working on the ground to ensure Congress victories in their constituencies, describing their involvement as a first-of-its-kind effort by sitting MLAs in ZP polls.
Terming the Zilla Panchayat results as an early indicator of a shift in the political climate, Chodankar said the outcome reflected growing public sentiment against the BJP. He expressed confidence that if the Congress continues with the same intensity and unity displayed during the ZP elections, the party would be able to defeat the BJP and stage a strong comeback in Goa.
