TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Assembly elections may be still two years away, but friends turned foes, Mickky Pacheco and his challenger Wilfred D’Sa seemed to have started the 2017 electoral battle in right earnest, beginning with the ensuing Zilla Panchayat polls.
Mickky has fielded Marcus Faria against the sitting ZP member Wilfred D’Sa for the Nuvem seat, in what is billed as a battle between the GVP supremo and Wilfred ahead of the 2017 Assembly poll.
That both Mickky and Wilfred appeared raring to go became evident at the district Collectorate, the venue of filing of nomination papers, when the duo sounded confident for the battle ahead.
Questioned whether he considers Wilfred as a threat to him in Nuvem in the coming Assembly polls, Mickky shot back saying, “I have defeated many heavyweights in my political career spanning 14 years. Compared to these heavyweights, he (Wilfred) is small fry. When Mickky fights for his life, there is no limit. The sky is the limit,” Mickky asserted.
On the other hand, Wilfred, after filing his nomination papers, maintained that the outcome of the Zilla Panchayat election would determine whether he would take on the GVP supremo in the 2017 Assembly poll. When his attention was drawn to Mickky’s statement that he had in the past defeated many a heavyweight in his long political career, Wilfred shot back saying, “I love to fight those people who claim to have defeated the powerful and the heavyweights,” apparently sending a message across to the rival camp that he is ready for the showdown.
That the GVP supremo is leaving no stone unturned to defeat Wilfred in Nuvem constituency is evident by the fact that he has already had two meetings at Nagoa and Nuvem. He has also drawn up plans to concentrate in Nuvem in the run up to the polls.
Wilfred has so far had a corner meeting in Nuvem, and has been holding workers’ meeting in almost every ward to brace up for the battle royal ahead. Though he has not officially joined the Congress, Wilfred has claimed support of the Congress party for his candidature.
