Team Herald
MARGAO: Congress workers from Colva Zilla Panchayat constituency, appealing to people to vote for its candidate, lamented that MLA Churchill Alemao was backing a person from Nuvem assembly constituency to get elected from Colva.
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Briefing media persons, Colva Panch Domingos Rodrigues said that despite working for Churchill for the last 38 years, instead of supporting a candidate from Colva, who would be his voter, the MLA is shoving a person who is a voter in the Nuvem assembly constituency upon them.
Dixon Vaz, who is in charge of the Zilla Panchayat elections in Colva and Benaulim constituencies, introduced the Congress candidate Suzie Fernandes who besides being a former sarpanch of Colva has also been the chairperson of the PTA of the village school.
“We are giving a new face with experience as she has served as a sarpanch of a village,” he said and that they have received tremendous support even in neighbouring Betalbatim where they went canvassing door-to-door.
The candidate Suzie Fernandes said she has been asked by the people to contest the elections and hence accepted the Congress ticket and while acknowledging that Congress has got a bad name due to recent defections, said she would remain loyal to the party and not change sides.
She said former MLA Mickey Pacheco is supporting her at the elections and said she considered all candidates to be a challenge for her but expressed confidence that the people will vote for her because of her personality.
Colva Sarpanch Anthony Fernandes alias Mam said they always supported Churchill but Churchill never supported him and appealed to people to vote for Suzie who he said is a dedicated and hard worker,
Member of Majorda Panchayat member Crescent Antao said Congress for the first time has given them a good candidate and said that is why he was supporting Suzie and further disclosed that at the ensuing Assembly elections too the Congress will hopefully give a new and young candidate.
“Being a sportsperson I entered politics to bring about principles in politics and I feel Suzie is a person with principles and we shall ensure that she does not defect in the future,” he said.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Secretary Everson Bales said the Congress was changing and pointed out that for 20 years Colva has been represented by a person from Majorda and it was time that a local person be elected to the Zilla Panchayat.
Meanwhile Churchill Alemao reacting to the Congress workers statements said that at the Zilla Panchayat elections when he had fielded Wilma from Colva she was defeated and said where the candidate hails from is irrelevant.
While expressing confidence that both his candidates will emerge victorious in Benaulim and Colva he said the five Colva panchayat members were upset with him because he had complained against the hotels that were functioning in Colva without any permissions or licenses.
