ASSOLNA: Did Vijai Sardesai, kind-off show defeat and the door to ZP Anthony Babush Rodrigues, who’s well known in Velim constituency because of his venture Jolly Travels and the free rides he offers to many Assolna-Velim-Cuncolimkars.

Vijai’s speech on Jolly’s birthday said, “I will not betray Bab Anthony like Judas betrayed Jesus or like the High Priest got Pilot to crucify Jesus.”

But in the same speech where Vijai was striking a personal chord with Velim voters by quoting scripture, Vijai was very clear to say “Anthony can’t win an election with how much he has done and he has to do more if he wants to keep victory in sight.” 

All this after Vijai had categorically told media, “I compromised Navelim for the Congress president Luizinho but I won’t back down on my candidate in Velim for the Congress vice president Filipe Neri Rodrigues.”

Now the Congress and Goa Forward party seems to have an understanding in Saligao, Siolim, Fatorda, Navelim but not in Velim and it seems like in the name of friendly fight as what Vijai and the Congress term it, but Babush feels betrayed and yet still keeps his emotions to himself.

“When I joined Goa Forward, we had no alliance in sight so in that manner, I’m prepared to take on Benjamin and Neri and my campaign is issue based. So I am not really dejected at what has happened or will happen in Velim,” asserted Babush.

The bigger issue is when these things are unclear, the calculations change and the strategy changes as to where to target voters, which part of the village panchayats to visit, where is the strongest voter base though we don’t look much in all that as Goa Forward is a new party and we’re reaching out to all people. But there’s no time for all these delays,” explains Brill Fernandes from the Goa Forward camp.

Meanwhile Neri has jumped to conclusions and quickly announced that soon after the Goa Forward-Congress “alliance” was announced, his candidature was declared in the first list of the Congress party which makes him the official candidate of the alliance and hence nothing beyond that should be looked into.