Vasco: It is a testing time for the political heavyweights from Mormugao. Every single vote will decided their future, including whether they have to continue or stop dreaming of contesting the 2017 Assembly elections.
Presently, leaders like Mormugao MLA Milind Naik, his Congress opponent Sankalp Amonkar, who has support of industrialist Narayan Bandekar, Nitin Chopdekar, former Revenue Minister Jose Philip D’Souza, Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida have floated a panel either independently or by taking support. Hence, the results will be treated as political test for them.
Interestingly, most wards of Mormugao municipality have candidates who were either chairperson or vice chairperson, and therefore, the fight in all these wards have become fiercer than the previous elections.
The fate of former Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Shekhar Khadapkar lies in the hands of voters from Ward 1, while the fate of former Chairperson Bhavana Bhosle and former Vice Chairperson Rohini Parab will be decided in Ward 2.
Ward 3 has Former Vice Chairperson Shanti Mandrekar, Ward 5 has former Chairperson Sarita Palkar, Ward 11 has former Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Saifullah Khan, Ward 12 has former Chairperson Deepak Naik, Ward 13 has former Chairperson Milton Barreto and former Vice Chairperson Krishna Salkar, Ward 14 has former Chairperson Lavina D’Souza and former Chairperson Fiola Rego, Ward 18 has former Chairperson Suchita Shirodkar, Ward 21 has former Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Tara Kerkar, while Ward 25 has former Chairperson Kritesh Gaunkar.
Meanwhile, some heavyweights have fielded their wives after their wards were reserved. Some of them are Shradha Sankalp Amonkar, Nisha Sharad Chopdekar (Ward 7), Ritu Manesh Arolkar (Ward 16) and Bhavana Premanand Nanoskar (Ward 24).
While the heavyweights are fighting to save their reputation and check their political strength, a few new faces will give them a tough fight.
