PANJIM: Ending their political hiatus, four old faces have made a strong comeback to the Goa Legislative Assembly by winning the elections while, 14 bigwigs had to bite dust.
Former Ministers Aleixo Sequeira (Congress) and Ramesh Tawadkar (BJP) and Subhash Phaldesai and Ganesh Gaonkar, both of BJP emerged triumphant by winning from their respective constituencies.
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Sequeira, who had a long career as a legislator made a comeback after almost a decade. He had announced his retirement from politics after tasting defeat in 2012 polls but came out of retirement after the party’s Nuvem MLA Wilfred ‘Babashan’ D’Sa switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Tawadkar had lost 2017 elections after he contested as an independent from Canacona constituency following denial of party ticket. Similarly Subhash Phaldesai (Sanguem) and Ganesh Gaonkar (Sanvordem) also made a comeback.
However, 14 political bigwigs, including former Chief Minister Lamxikant Parsekar and six others, who had served as Cabinet Ministers had to bite the dust in the election. Parsekar, who was denied BJP ticket had entered the fray as an independent candidate.
Former Ministers Jose Philip D’Souza, Dayanand Mandrekar, Mickky Pacheco, Mahadev Naik,
Deepak Dhavalikar and Avertano Furtado and former MLAs Victor Gonsalves, Vijay Pai Khot, Damodar ‘Damu’ Naik, Naresh Sawal, Kiran Kandolkar, Benjamin Silva and Lavoo Mamledar lost the election.
Though the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) have their representatives elected to the Legislative Assembly, their party presidents namely Deepak Dhavalikar, Rahul Mhambre and Manoj Parab were defeated.
Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) president Kiran Kandolkar and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Jose Philip D’Souza are the other two who lost the election. This time, Kandolkar had shifted from Tivim to Aldona while, Jose Philip too had shifted to neighbouring Dabolim from Vasco. But both tasted defeat.
