SAKHALI: BJP will win the elections to the zilla panchayats and the government may devolve additional power and funds to ZPs to strengthen them, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday. Agitation over issues like coal, double tracking, Tamnar power transmission line and national highway widening will have no impact on the outcome of the ZP elections, he said.
“My position in the party is already strong and I was declared as chief minister by the party,” Sawant said when asked whether his position would become stronger if BJP wins handsomely in the ZP polls. “There is no plan for a cabinet reshuffle and it is the chief minister’s right to decide on a party ticket for the assembly elections,” he told TOI after casting his vote in Sakhali constituency
“The state government will get additional Rs 15 crore from the 15th Finance Commission and that will be given to both the ZPs to take up development in rural areas,” he said.
He was asked about allocating more funds to the ZPs.
Asked about the impact of the agitation against the three linear projects, he said, “People will come to know what was the impact of the agitation. People have realised that I speak the truth and work for the state.”
“A section of the people and politicians are opposing these infrastructure projects. Coal is being handled in Goa for the last 75 years. Railways started in 1810 and that is the reason one can visit Dudhsagar, otherwise it would have been declared as tiger forest and been out of bounds for the public. Tamnar project is the need of the hour and it must come. If the Tamnar project does not kick off, then in the next two years we will not get 24X7 power supply and people have realised that,” he said.
The chief minister said that people have appreciated the state government’s Covid management and that it will convert into votes in the ZP elections. He also said that this election is not a challenge for him as he already fought parliamentary elections.
Asked how much this election is important to prove your leadership, Sawant said, “I have full faith in my ability and leadership. People of the state will prove that they are behind me and on result day, people will prove about my leadership.”
Due to Covid, people have not come out in large numbers, he said. “People will stand by BJP because of our administration and rural development. Because BJP is winning, Congress’s Digambar Kamat and Goa Forward’s Vijai Sardesai are in a state of panic,” he said.
New MLAs had an apprehension that people may be hesitant to vote for BJP in Salcete and they felt that they should be allowed to get independent candidates elected, Sawant said after he was asked why BJP had not fielded many candidates in South Goa despite having MLAs. “MLAs have to get ZP candidates elected and we have allowed them to support independent candidates,” he said.
Sawant said that people will make us win in ZP polls to work for them. He said that people in the mining belt have voted in favour of BJP as they have full faith in me regarding resumption of mining activities in the state.
The chief minister said that ZP elections are important in three-tier systems. Responding to a query that some consider the ZP polls as semi-final before the next assembly polls which are 13 months away, Sawant said that there is no final and semi final in elections as BJP takes all elections seriously and our supporters work tirelessly to make the party win.