The Goa Suraksha Manch Friday announced that its mentor Subhash Velingkar would contest the Panaji bypoll scheduled for May 19.

The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of sitting MLA and then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17.

It would be the first time Velingkar, a former Goa RSS chief, would be contesting an election in his career spanning over four decades.

Velingkar said his party is sure to win the Panaji bypoll and claimed it had a huge voter base in the seat.

Basic amenities for Panaji and withdrawal of permission for off-shore casinos, which operate on the Mandovi river, would be taken up on priority, he said.

Velingkar, a former associate of Parrikar, later fell out with him and was sacked from the RSS in 2016.

He then formed the Goa Suraksha Manch which fought the 2017 Assembly polls but failed to win any seat.

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