Team Herald
PANJIM: MLAs Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate and Siddharat Kuncolienkar turned out to be the faces of Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) polls the men who floated the panels, campaigned and got their candidates elected. But not all may have won on the strength of the MLAs. Some former and sitting corporators were rewarded by their voters for their hard work. They or their kin, in wards that they could not contest from, were re-elected.
Six-time councillor/corporator Surendra Furtado (Ward No 10) and his wife Ruth (Ward No 9) have been serving the corporation for the third consecutive year together along with Vaidehi Naik (Ward No 12). While Surendra and Naik have served as city Mayors, the not so well-known Ruth, has done everything possible to ensure that her ward remains clean, green and developed.
“Basic works on the ground eventually win you elections. These are some corporators who have been working. Furtado and Naik tried their best to do some good work during their tenure as Mayors but lack of support was the biggest hurdle,” former Mayor Ashok Naik said.
The biggest compliment to Furtado came from his close rival Gourish Dhond who appreciated the work done for the ward. While Naik was not on the BJP panel list initially, the party’s failure to get a good candidate in Ward 12 led to her being the candidate again.
Former Mayor Yatin Parekh, who served the city Corporation for four terms, now has his wife Lata as the corporator. Lata, whose name has been shortlisted for the post of Deputy Mayor, managed to sweep ward 14, primarily because of her husband’s hard work. There are also corporator who in one term showed their capabilities and returned to the corporation, these include former Deputy Mayor Kabir Makhija (Ward No 11), former Mayor Shubham Chodankar (Ward No 27) and Margarida Fernandes (Ward No 4). While Chodankar and Fernandes got re-elected, ward 11 being reserved for women Makhija introduced his sister Soraya who won the ward.
Makhija had taken steps to ensure that Campal heritage remains intact. He was instrumental in shifting commercial exhibitions out of capital city – basically out of Kala Academy and Campal Parade ground. He even made efforts for pay parking in the area, but there did not succeed.
BJP’s Taleigao Mandal President Dattaprasad Naik’s hard work paid off as his wife Sheetal defeated Babush’s strongman Bento Lorena.
“These are corporators who worked silently and tirelessly for their constituents for the last five years and even more. The voters have ultimately rewarded their effort,” social activist and local resident Dr Oscar Rebello said in a blog on a media website.
