Wards 7,9,10 of Valpoi to witness tough contests
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
VALPOI, OCT 26
A tough fight is in the offing in Wards 7, 9 and 10 of Valpoi Municipal Council (VMC) elections on Sunday.
In Ward 7, which is reserved for women, seven candidates are in the fray and all seven candidates are seen working round the clock by organising corner meetings and door-to-door campaigning to win the battle. Most of the candidates are members of Mahila Mandals.
Candidates in the fray are Roshan Dessai, Dorytina Fernandes, Anisa Khan, Famida Bi Khan, Sharifa Bi Khan, Zarina Khan and Prajokta Prasad Teli.
In Ward 9, ex-chairperson Akhatar Shah will have to face nine candidates. The Shah family has a strong base in this ward since the last two decades.
Besides Akhatar, his wife Naznin and his father Hussein were also elected as councillors from this ward in the past.
Other candidates in the fray are Mohammad Sharif Khan, Nasir Hyder Khan, Ulfat Gafur Khan, Usman Salia Khan, Dharmendra Salunke, Vaisivoddin Sayyad, Bashir Shaikh, Mujaffer Shah and Yusuf Shaikh.
In Ward 10, which is reserved for women, there are six candidates in the fray.
Ashish Kanekar, who was elected from this ward in the last election (2005), has fielded his wife Shweta. Others in the fray are Latifa Khan, Archana Arvind Pokle, Faimida Mohammad Ali Sayyad, Shaizin Wahab Shaikh and Nisha Nilesh Velingkar.
In Ward 1, reserved for women OBC, it will be a straight fight between Vandana Shivaji Lokare and Durgabai Sojro Veluskar, while in Ward 2, ex-Councilor Ramdas Shirodkar will face Tukaram Bhikaji Haldankar and Keshav Vitthal Morajkar.
In Ward 3, reserved for ST, Baptise Dias was elected unopposed.
In Ward 4, ex-councilor Prakash Bikaro Gawas will face Chandan Krishna Gawas and Shaba Shrikant Gawas.
Ward 5 will witness a straight fight between ex-councilor Abdul Munir Beig and Idrus Shaikh, while in Ward 6, ex-chairperson Gulzar Bi Khan and Khan Sharafat will battle it out.
Ward 8 will also witness a straight fight between ex-vice chairperson Umesh Gulelkar and Sanjay Mahadev Sakhalkar.
Though many candidates claim that they have the support of local MLA Vishwajeet Rane, but so far Rane was not seen canvassing or supporting any candidates openly or directly.
