Team Herald
MARGAO: The reservation of wards for the Margao Municipal Council elections has upset plans of quite a few councillors.
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While some of the affected councillors have accepted the reality and decided not to contest the elections, there are others, who have changed their ward and are contesting from new wards.
Lyndon Pereira of Goa Forward Party, who was representing Ward No 2, is now contesting from Ward No 3 as Ward No 2 is reserved for OBC while former councillor Pooja Naik is tipped off to contest from Ward No 22 as Ward No 9 that she represented earlier is now in the general category.
She cannot contest from Ward No 23 as planned earlier since that is reserved for Scheduled Tribes women. Glenn Andrade of Goa Forward Party, who was all geared up to contest again from Ward No 10 was shocked to discover that he will not be able to contest as the ward is now reserved for OBC and he has decided not to participate in the electoral battle this time around.
Two major leaders of BJP have their plans scuttled due to the new reservations. BJP’s Margao Mandal President Rupesh Mahatme, who has been a councilor many times, cannot contest from his Ward No 17, as it is reserved for Other Backward Class.
“This is not a problem for me as I have fielded another candidate who will definitely get elected,” said Rupesh. BJP Margao Yuva Morcha President Ketan Kurtarkar’s plans to seek a second term from Ward No 13 are scuttled as the ward is reserved for women.
However, Ketan is fielding his sister as a candidate, who will probably be pitted against long time councillor Doris Texeira of Congress.
Incidentally, Doris cannot contest from Ward No 15, which is now in the general category. When she was elected last time it was reserved for women.
However, her good friend Manoj Massurker is contesting from Ward No 15 as the Ward No 16, which he represented last time, is reserved for women. Arthur D’Silva of the BJP is contesting from Ward No 7 as the ward he represented earlier namely Ward No 22 is reserved for OBC this time.
Another BJP aspirant, whose brother is Tourism Minister in State Cabinet Rajendra Ajgaonkar had his wish of contesting from Ward No 14, shattered as it is reserved for women. To circumvent the problem, he is fielding his wife Ronita from Ward No 14.
