MARGAO: Pratima Coutinho on Tuesday filed nomination as the Congress candidate for the Zilla Panchayat elections from Navelim constituency with Frankie Pires proposing her candidature. Various Congress leaders accompanied her to the returning officer Joao B Fernandes’s office.
Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, Goa Pradesh Congress president Girish Chodankar, Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro, Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Altinho Gomes and Congress South District Committee president Joe Dias, Pratima’s husband Savio Coutinho and Mahila Congress members accompanied Pratima.
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Digambar Kamat while pointing out that Pratima is known all over Goa because of the various agitations she has launched against price rise and other matters said her victory in the elections was a foregone conclusion.
Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro appealed to the voters in the four panchayats to vote for Pratima. Incidentally while Navelim and Telaulim village panchayats are part of the Navelim assembly constituency, Sarzora and Dramapur, Sirlim are part of Velim Assembly constituency.
Girish Chodankar accused the current BJP government to be anti women as they have not adhered to the constitutional mandate of reserving 33 per cent of the seats for women and pointed out that at some places only 25 per cent seats were reserved for women.
Joe Dias said the two villages in Navelim assembly constituency were totally with the Congress along with Drampur, Sirlim where Luizinho Faleiro has done a lot of work and has good contacts. “We shall work extra hard in Sarzora to ensure that Pratima gets a lead there too,” he said.
