Team Herald
PANJIM: Betrayed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and refused a ticket for the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) elections, the party’s Panjim Mandal vice-president Santosh Akhadkar quit from all posts and will contest against the party and ‘family raj’ in Ward number 30.
The BJP that openly criticised family raj by the Congress during the 2012 Assembly election has taken the same path by denying a ticket to its loyalist of 20 years and preferring to field husband-wife duo in Ward numbers 29 and 30.
“I sacrificed for a senior party leader in 2011 CCP polls. The BJP then committed to give me the ticket in 2016. Recently the higher ups asked me to begin preparations for the polls only to realise later that I was replaced by another BJP candidate,” Akhadkar told Herald.
Backed by a businessman, an activist and some ward members, Akhadkar is set to contest as an Independent. On Monday, he quit from the post of Vice-President of the Panjim BJP Mandal as well as primary membership of the party. “I have no future in such a situation which is why I decided to resign from the party posts,” he said.
