Team Herald
PANJIM: Despite winning the zilla panchayat elections by a thumping majority, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not in favour of having the municipal council polls on party lines.
The State Election Commission (SEC), citing apprehensions with regards to the possible spread of corona virus cases, has postponed the elections to 11 municipal councils and the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) by three months, till April.
Speaking to media persons on Saturday, BJP State president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said that the party is not in favour of contesting the municipal polls on party lines. “We have told the Chief Minister (Dr Pramod Sawant) that if possible instead of holding municipal election on party lines, let them be conducted like earlier. Let the elections be without the party symbol,” he said.
Tanavade said that the final decision will be taken by the government. “Whatever decision the government takes will be binding on us,” he said. The BJP chief said that the party will field panels without its symbol.
At the ZP elections held on party lines in December last, BJP won 33 seats – 19 in North Goa and 14 in South – out of 49. The election to one was countermanded due to the death of a candidate.
The elections to the 11 municipalities were due in October 2020, however, in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases, the elections were postponed by three months. This is the second postponement of the polls. The elections to the councils, along with the polls to the CCP, were likely to be held in March as the five-year term of the Panjim corporation ends in mid-March.
