TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: A day after the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) leadership disclosed its plans to contest the Benaulim by-poll, it has come to light that the party cannot use the Two Leaves symbol in view of the party’s de-recognition by the Election Commission.
Party leader Adv Radharao Gracias admitted that the UGDP stands de-recognised after it failed to poll certain percentage of votes or seats in the 2012 Assembly polls. “I admit that the UGDP cannot use the Two Leaves symbol any more”, he said, but hastened to add that nothing stops the party from contesting the by-poll or any other poll under the party banner minus the Two Leaves symbol.
The Election Commission had de-recognised the UGDP after the 2007 polls when the party failed to poll certain percentage of votes and win a single seat. The UGDP leadership had then blamed the presence of Churchill Alemao-led Save Goa Front, accusing the regional party of eating into its traditional vote bank.
The Election Commission, however, granted six years time for the regional party to poll the voting percentage in the next election, but the party once again failed to cut much ice in the 2012 polls after its tie-up with Mickky Pacheco’s Goa Vikas Party.
Incidentally, in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the UGDP
was barred from using the Two Leaves symbol after the party had failed to intimate the Election Commission on
the use of the symbol, leaving party candidate, late Matanhy Saldanha to contest the election without the Two
Leaves symbol.
