VASCO/PANJIM: Former Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) State president Jose Philip D’Souza on Tuesday disclosed his plans to contest the ensuing Assembly polls from Dabolim constituency while Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho said that he is welcome as it does make any difference for him.
Jose Philip also advocated the need of pre-poll alliance of like-minded parties in order to prevent division of secular votes.
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Jose Philip claimed that lot of people from Dabolim constituency have been approaching him with their grievances and that they have been pressurising him to contest from neighbouring Dabolim. He said that he will soon take a decision after consulting his workers and supporters.
Jose Philip has been contesting from Vasco constituency since 1994 and represented it twice in 1999-2002 and 2007-2012. He forfeited his security deposits in 2017 polls.
The NCP president also favoured alliance with like-minded parties before the next Assembly elections due in March next year. He said that all like-minded secular parties should sit together and work out strategy to ensure that division of secular votes does not benefit the communal forces in the State.
To a question, Jose Philip refused to accept that the NCP organisation was weak in the State and claimed that nobody should think that they are not a force to reckon with.
On the other hand, Mauvin said that Jose Philip contesting from Dabolim constituency will not make any difference for him.
“When I know I am strong why I have to bother about others. In politics and elections there has to be some opponent and it is not my intention to even try and get me elected unopposed because you lose your workers. I have seen some politicians doing manipulations to get elected unopposed,” he said.
Mauvin is representing Dabolim constituency since 2012.
