While the Congress is silent in Dabolim and Vasco constituencies, it is very active in Mormugao. Leaders have floated panels against their own party, whose votes are likely to be split. The bitter relationship between Congress leaders in Mormugao is known to all, but this election has given them a platform to expose their differences, even if it benefits the BJP.
On Sunday, senior Congress leader Nitin Chopdekar announced a panel of five candidates under the banner of ‘Mormugao United Secular Front’. His panel will square off against the panel of Congress leader Sankalp Amonkar, as well as the panel backed by BJP Mormugao MLA Milind Naik and a few strong independents.
Incidentally, Sankalp’s wife Shradha Amonkar and Nitin’s wife Nisha Chopdekar will contest against each other and independents from Ward 6.
“I feel that Chopdekar is Milind Naik’s dummy to split my votes, including the Congress’ votes. In the last assembly elections, Chopdekar did same thing; he shook hands with Naik to ensure my defeat as he doesn’t want me to win, and neither is he interested in winning. Also, he doesn’t have any authority to say that his panel is backed by the Congress as he is not with the party anymore. Our leaders in Panjim conveyed the same to the media,” said Amonkar.
Alternately, Chopdekar said he floated his own panel only because Amonkar had hurt the sentiments of Congressmen from Mormugao. He stated, “When we heard that Amonkar floated his panel and when he announced to the media that it is not linked with the Congress but with industrialist Narayan Bandekar, we decided to form a panel of Congress workers who were sidelined by Amonkar.”
