NT Reporter | Panaji
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said that an alliance for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat (ZP) polls is the need of the hour. “Goans want us to unite,” he said.
A seven-member high-level committee of senior Congress leaders, formed to plan for the ZP elections, met for the first time on Thursday, with the issue of alliances being a key point of discussion.
Speaking about the alliance, Alemao said, “Goans want us to unite. The Congress party has taken cognisance of it. Everyone wants us to unite, so definitely whatever has to be done in the interest of Goenkars comes first. As I said, compromises have to be made; it is not an easy task. I believe in a couple of days we will decide on the alliance.”
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar said that on the first day, discussions centred on how to approach the ZP elections and the reservation of constituencies. “We will have another meeting on Friday to decide on candidate selection and shortlisting,” said Patkar.
He said that applications had been received from all 50 ZP constituencies. “We are well prepared. We have shortlisted some candidates, and the final list will be declared soon,” he said.
When asked whether Congress would contest the ZP polls alone, Patkar said, “That was the topic of discussion today. Today, people’s sentiment is that we all have to come together and fight against the BJP. We are meeting again tomorrow.”
A few days ago, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa desk in-charge Manikrao Thakare had constituted the seven-member high-level committee comprising Patkar, Alemao, Congress Working Committee (CWC) permanent invitee Girish Chodankar, South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes, MLAs Carlos Ferreira and Altone D’Costa, and senior GPCC vice-president M K Shaikh.
