Team Herald
PANJIM: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had achieved an absolute majority in the country’s capital of New Delhi, failed miserably to win even a single seat in Goa. Most of the AAP candidates fared so badly that they will forfeit their deposits.
In a major setback to AAP, its Chief Ministerial candidate Elvis Gomes, who had contested from Cuncolim constituency after resigning from the Goa Civil Services, lost to a Congress candidate by a huge margin. Gomes secured 3437 votes, which is less than party candidate in Benaulim, Royola Fernandes who secured 4182 votes, who was also the only AAP candidate to cross 4000 votes.
Only nine of the party candidates secured more than 2000 votes, and these were in the constituencies of Mapusa, Aldona, Cumbharjua, Cortalim, Nuvem, Curtorim, Curchorem, besides Benaulim and Cuncolim.
Dr Oscar Rebello, AAP leader said the party will decide whether to continue in Goa or not. “We will think and gauge whether the people of Goa really want us to continue or not. We are not here for business of politics. Something that affects our personal life, family life, our profession, it affects everything and to continue a revolution for people who don’t want it, we will take a call slowly,” Rebello said.
He said the results will be analyzed by the party and that the party has not understood the prescription. “What we thought was that Goa wanted honest politics with honest candidates, we really failed. So either the prescription is wrong or we did not come up to the challenge,” he said.
Before the polls, AAP had claimed it would form the government in Goa with a clear majority. The party, despite an impressive manifesto and campaign has to now consider its future in Goa.
