TEAM HERALD
CALANGUTE/MAPUSA: In what will come as a major setback to its MGP ally, the state BJP leadership has virtually decided on contesting the forthcoming ZP polls on its own.
While BJP leaders were reluctant to divulge details of their meeting in Calangute on Monday, MLAs who attended it told Herald that much of the discussion pertained to the membership drive, but the topic of BJP contesting the ZP polls without any alliance also figured prominently at the meeting.
“From the discussions so far, BJP is almost sure of contesting the ZP polls alone, but the final decision will be announced once the polls are declared. Senior elected representatives of our party spoke out against the MGP at the meeting and favoured going alone. All block presidents and general secretaries were also present at the meeting,” a BJP legislator told Herald.
Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza claimed that nothing had been finalized regarding BJP’s decision to go alone in the ZP polls.
“This meeting at Calangute was mainly to discuss the membership drive. However, some BJP leaders had expressed their opinion about contesting the ZP polls alone. Since the ZP polls are not applicable to my Mapusa constituency, I feel that the BJP should go alone in the ZP polls as this is the best opportunity to test the party’s strength,” said D’Souza.
“However, the final decision will be taken by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and the BJP state president,” said D’Souza.
Sources said that 3.85 lakh members have been enrolled in the party so far.
