Margao MLA, Digambar Kamat has announced his 11 member panel for the Margao Muncipal elections. The Kamat panel which has always been in a sweeping majority in the MMC has taken a beating to its confidence after the Louis Berger Bribery case against their Godfather – Digambar Kamat. However, most of the councillors will be reliant on their personal rapport with the ward polity.
Kamat’s Congress panel has, in the meantime fielded an 11 member panel and as mentioned earlier by Kamat, he hasn’t interfered in the Fatorda and Curtorim politics. Sitting councillor from Ward 12 Sushila Naik has been given a ticket to contest again. Gopal Naik in ward 13, Rosy Pereira in ward 14, Dorris Texeira in ward 15, Manoj Masurkar in ward 16, Dhananjay Mayenkar in ward 17, Sharan Faldessai in ward 18, Avinash Shirodkar in ward 19, Jafar Saliya in ward 20, Ashlesha Naik in ward 21 and sitting Councillor Damu Shirodkar in ward 22.
“Ward 23, 24 and 25 are in Curtorim and wards 1 to 11 are in Fatorda. These wards have been left for local politicians of the wards,” said Damu Shirodkar.
Presently, Kamat holds the key to most of the councillors of Margao among whom Dorris, Sushila, Damu, Avinash and a few more are the front runners. Kamat’s connect has largely benefited Sushila Naik in the past as she has sat on the Chairperson’s chair with the support of the Kamat panel. There were rumours amongst Madgaonkaar’s that Kamat may field his wife, Asha Kamat and also Nitin Naik in the wards of Comba. The picture is finally clear now.
Digambar’s foot soldier, Damu Shirodkar will have to face Arthur D’Silva and BJP’s Kaustubh Kanekar in ward 22 and Dhananjay Mayenkar will have to face Rupesh Mahatme and another BJP member, Elvis Fernandes in ward 17. All eyes are set on these two wards and according to political experts, these wards will decide who sits in the MMC next.
“We are quite confident of winning the wards we traditionally hold. But it does affect us to quite an extent when our political father figure is facing trials in grave cases,” said one of the sources in the Kamat camp.
The Gandhi Market and Malbhat areas which were to be traditional bastions of Kamat have been slowly drifting from his hands and now these elections have become a matter of pride and ego for almost all the major power centres of Margao.
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