Babush trounces Ponnjekars

NT NETWORK

Panaji

Panaji MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate-led Bharatiya Janata Party  panel on Monday swept the Corporation of the City of Panaji elections by winning 25 of the 30 wards.

This is for the fourth time that the Monserrate-led panel has emerged victorious in the CCP polls.

‘Ami Ponnjekars’, a citizen’s panel led by former mayor Surendra Furtado, which had been backed by the Congress party, the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP rebels, managed to win only in four wards while Independent candidate Santosh Surlikar won from Ward XXIII. 

It is pertinent to note here that Monserrate had faced opposition within the party vis-à-vis the CCP polls.

Several BJP ‘loyalists’ and outgoing corporators, who were denied ticket by the BJP panel, had canvassed against the Monserrate’s candidates. 

Some of the Monserrate’s detractors had even extended support to Independents; a few of them contested the elections.

This is a big political win for Monserrate. However, the Panaji MLA was not happy as he wanted his panel to emerge victorious in all the 30 wards.

Interacting with media persons, Monserrate accepted the responsibility for defeat in five wards.

“I am not happy… I lowered my guard. I believe that I did not work enough. And that’s the reason we lost the five seats. I didn’t canvass in the wards where we lost…  I apologise to my candidates. It’s not their defeat, but mine,”
he remarked. 

Refusing to comment on the BJP rebels who worked against his panel, the Panaji MLA reckoned that his panel could win the elections with the support of the BJP.

Monserrate said the promises made during the poll campaign will be fulfilled before the next CCP elections.

Rohit Monserrate, son of the Panaji MLA, who had contested from Ward III on the BJP panel, won the polls gaining 70.94 per cent of the votes.

Outgoing mayor Uday Madkaikar won from the Ward XIV polling 75.41 per cent of the votes.

Surendra Furtado secured his seat (Ward VI), while his wife Ruth Furtado won from Ward IX.

The other two winners from the Ami Ponnjekar panel are Nelson Francisco Cabral (Ward I) and Joel Andrade (Ward VIII).

Surendra Furtado expressed happiness at his election as a corporator for the seventh term and his wife’s victory for the fifth time.

“We thank the people of Panaji, the media, and God who have always been protecting us because we have always done social work. My friend Babush Monserrate filed a case through his office boy; that always gave us an added advantage,” Furtado said.

The other candidates from the Monserrate panel who won the polls are:  Yuvraj Francis Fernandes (Ward II), Carolina Po (Ward IV), Shubhada Rupesh Shirgaonkar (Ward V), Bento Silvester Lorena (Ward VII), Prasad Amonkar (Ward X), Karan Parekh (Ward XI), Varsha Shetye (Ward XII), Pramay Mainkar (Ward XIII), Shayani Chopdekar (Ward XV), Asmita Kerkar (Ward XVI), Dennis Edward Francis Jorge (Ward XVII), Aditi Chopdekar (Ward XVIII), Narsinvha Morajkar (Ward XIX), Shubham Chodankar (Ward XX), Manisha Manerkar (Ward XXI), Diksha Mainkar (Ward XXII), Pranjal Naik (Ward XXIV), Sanjeev Naik (Ward XXV), Vasant Agshikar (Ward XXVI), Lorraine Dias (Ward XXVII), Vithal Chopdekar (Ward XXVIII), Silvestre Fernandes (Ward XXIX) and Sandra Da Cunha (ward XXX).