lGonzaco Rebello and Sadanand Naik in a straight contest
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Election for the vacant post of Margao Municipal Chairperson will witness a straight fight between Councillors Gonzaco Rebello and his rival Sadanand Naik, as both the ruling and the opposition groups claimed majority support on the eve of the poll.
Both the groups also saw its members moving away to the rival camps. This was evident by the fact that while Avinash Shirodkar from the ruling group switched sides to the Sadanand camp, Margao MLA Digmabar Kamat’s cousin Laxmikant Kamat has extended his support to the ruling group backing Gonzaco’s candidature.
Accompanied by his Councillor wife Babita and Avinash Shirodkar, Sadanand filed his papers before Chief Officer Y B Tawde on Monday morning. He later told the media that he will win the election by a comfortable margin. “I enjoy the support of a majority of the members. I do not want to disclose the number of Councillors supporting me, but I will win the election,” Sadanand said.
Councillor Avinash Shirodkar, who broke away from the rival ruling side, said he has decided to support Sadanand because he hails from the Bhandari Samaj. “The ruling group has only eight members on its side. I have decided to support Sadanand because he hails from the Bhandari Samaj. Last time round, I had supported Dadi Mayemkar for the post of vice-chairperson,” he said.
On the other hand, Gonzaco filed his nomination papers in the presence of former Chairperson Arthur D’Silva, vice-chairperson Dadi Mayemkar and others. Gonzaco later told the media that he enjoys the support of 14 councillors in the 20-member council. “Right now, I can say that I enjoy the support of 14 members. The figure may go up on Tuesday, the election day,” he added.
Incidentally, Councillor Laxmikant Kamat, who belonged to the 6-member Congress group, has said he has decided to support Gonzaco, as he is the proper candidate for the post.
“Gonzaco is the right person for the post of chairperson. I am fully backing his candidature,” he added.
