Team Herald
Margao: Aam Aadmi Party has captured the imagination of the people of Goa by winning for the first time, a seat in Benaulim and becoming catalysts drawing a sizeable number of votes which at some constituencies upset the arithmetic of the Congress.
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The war between the Congress and AAP has raged, however, there are some seats in Salcete that have damaged the Congress as AAP performed well in them.
Take for example Raia, Joseph I Vaz, a veteran Congressman who contested Raia seat lost by 653 votes against the independent candidate and a former ZP Dominic Gaonkar. The AAP candidate Leandrinha Gomes drew a total of 693 votes, a figure just above the margin of win between the Congress and the independent.
In Colva, AAP had Aishwarya Fernandes pull 1431 votes while in a contest against the Congress and the NCP. As per the result, NCP candidate Vania Baptista defeated the Congress candidate by just 72 votes. Here again, the AAP proved to be a spoiler for the Congress because the contest between the NCP and Congress was hardly 100 votes.
In Nuvem however, Marcelina Figueiredo of the AAP drew 1407 votes and the Congress candidate in Nuvem, Assuciana Rodrigues won the election with a small margin of 151 votes. Assuciana after winning said, “Would like to thank all the villagers of Nuvem ZP constituency. We have shown that he (Wilfred D’sa) has no place in Nuvem. The cheating that you did by jumping party, this is the first warning. This is the slap on the face of the defecting MLA” said Assuciana.
The shocker came in Benaulim as the former AAP Candidate of Assembly elections Royla Fernandes who was the only one who had saved the deposit of AAP among the several candidates of Goa was defeated as AAP candidate secured a win. Hanzel Fernandes of AAP won by 434 votes. It is debatable who actually cut into whose votes but the fact is that the Benaulim was contested by NCP candidate Menino Fernandes, the famous tiatrist popularly known as Menino De Bandar who drew 2489 votes. Royla got 2637 votes and the winner got 3071 votes. It may be recalled that the public meeting that launched the AAP as a political party in Goa had first happened in Benaulim.
Hanzel Fernandes of AAP after winning said, “I won’t let my voters down. Each and every grievance will be redressed. People wanted change and that has happened.”
Venzy Viegas of AAP said, “First win for AAP and the idea is to change the mindset of people. Benaulim has set an example for all the State of Goa. We want to make a change in Goa. We want to reduce the expenses of Goans. People are actually fedup and want change. Benaulim has understood, rest of Goa will follow” said Venzy.
AAP Goa in-charge Atishi tweeted, “Congratulations to Hanzel Fernandes for his victory in the Benaulim ZP seat in Goa! We thank the people of Benaulim for the trust they have reposed in AAP Goa. I am confident that this is the beginning of many successes of AAP in Goa!”
AAP Goa Convener Rahul Mhambre pointed out that the vote share of his party has increased in all the constituencies it has contested and said this is a clear sign that Goans have accepted AAP as the true voice of Goan.
