Nothing has riled up Mamata Banerjee more in the past few years than the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan. Almost two years after the West Bengal chief minister refused to speak at a government event in Kolkata attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the slogan was raised, she faced the same situation during the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express at Howrah station on Friday.The incident last year occurred at Victoria Memorial at an event organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. As some people shouted “Jai Shri Ram”, an irate Banerjee refused to speak. In 2019, Banerjee confronted some suspected BJP supporters for raising “Jai Shri Ram” as her convoy passed by them. At the time, she wrote in a Facebook post, “Jai Sia Ram, Jai Ramji ki, Ram Naam Satya Hai etc have religious and social connotations. We respect these sentiments. But the BJP is using religious slogan ‘Jai Sri Ram’ as its party slogan in a misconceived manner by way of mixing religion with politics. We do not respect this forcible enforcement of political slogans on others in the name of so-called RSS which Bengal has never accepted.”On Friday, as the CM reached Howrah station platform 22 to attend the event, some BJP supporters carrying party flags and stationed at platform 23 started the sloganeering. A visibly surprised Banerjee was seen complaining to Governor CV Ananda Bose as he arrived for the programme.Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other dignitaries at the event scrambled to do damage control. Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State for Education Subhash Sarkar tried to calm down BJP workers, repeatedly urging them over the loudspeaker not to raise the slogan. But the sloganeering continued and angered Banerjee even further. The CM initially refused to get up on the stage and sat on a chair beside the dais instead.When PM Modi appeared on a giant screen to flag off Vande Bharat, the CM regained her composure. Addressing the event, she offered condolences to Modi for his mother’s death. In her speech, she did not refer to the sloganeering. “Today is a sad day for you personally. It is a great loss of your personal life. May god give you strength and bless you so that you can love your mother … I convey my gratitude to you for being present here virtually as you could not come because of the sad demise of your mother. Please take rest and take care,” she told the PM.Speaking about the development projects inaugurated at the event, Banerjee said, “Today is my happiest way. My dream project, Joka to Taratala, is being flagged off. I am very happy that other projects are also being inaugurated which I started when I was the railway minister. You have also given one new train to the state. I am very happy … I also thank all the officers, ministers, MPs, MLAs and other officials for this. May god give you the strength to do your work.”Following Banerjee’s speech, PM Modi inaugurated the trains. Banerjee, Vaishnaw, and others also waved a green flag to mark the start of the Vande Bharat’s journey. Among the others present at the event were Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and John Barla.TMC hits out at BJPBut the sloganeering episode sparked a political firestorm, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing the BJP of “misusing ‘Jai Shri Ram’” to insult Banerjee and criticising the Centre for failing to stop the sloganeering. The episode left the BJP somewhat divided, with BJP MP SS Ahluwalia saying the slogans should not have been raised and leaders such as his fellow parliamentarian Locket Chatterjee and Adhikari defending those who did.TMC MP Sougata Roy said, “The inauguration of Vande Bharat Express was a government programme. The Centre invited her to attend it. Now BJP MPs and workers raised the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan. This is a political slogan. If aimed at her, Mamata Banerjee feels insulted. Because of this reason, she did not go to the stage and stood beside the dais. I strongly condemn this attitude of the BJP workers. We cannot tolerate the insult of Mamata Banerjee after she is invited to a government programme.”TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh also criticised the Centre for allowing an incident like this to unfold at a government programme. “There is no problem with the chanting of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. But one must keep in mind the time and place of doing so. The BJP is misusing the name of Ram to disrespect Mamata Banerjee. This is not the first time it has happened.”Ashwini Vaishnaw thanked Banerjee for attending the event but added nothing had happened that warranted such a reaction from her. “We had respectfully invited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend the programme and she responded to our invitation,” the Railways Minister told reporters. “There was no such issue which warranted a strong reaction from her. Workers out of excitement chant slogans. There is nothing wrong with that. But I want to thank Mamata Banerjee for gracing the event with her presence and increasing the dignity of the occasion.”SS Ahluwalia, the BJP MP from Purba Bardhaman-Durgapur, however, said that such slogans should not have been raised. “Different people think in different ways. This was a government event and in a national programme like this slogan of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ should have been raised.”But Locket Chatterjee, the parliamentarian from Hooghly, disagreed with Ahluwalia. “Our party workers started raising slogans after they saw the new train. When PM’s photograph was shown on a giant screen, the sloganeering intensified. It is natural for our workers to raise such a slogan because of the emotion and the passion attached to it. There is no political connection with this.”Targeting the CM, Suvendu Adhikari said, “It is clear from her behaviour that she is haunted by her defeat in Nandigram last year and that’s why she refused to share the dais with me. She had done the same thing in Kalaikunada last year during a cyclone review meeting. She indulged in a similar drama today. She cannot digest her defeat to me (from Nandigram during the Assembly elections). But I promise that she will have to endure this pain for a long time as I will ensure that she becomes a former chief minister of the state.”
Nothing has riled up Mamata Banerjee more in the past few years than the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan. Almost two years after the West Bengal chief minister refused to speak at a government event in Kolkata attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the slogan was raised, she faced the same situation during the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express at Howrah station on Friday.The incident last year occurred at Victoria Memorial at an event organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. As some people shouted “Jai Shri Ram”, an irate Banerjee refused to speak. In 2019, Banerjee confronted some suspected BJP supporters for raising “Jai Shri Ram” as her convoy passed by them. At the time, she wrote in a Facebook post, “Jai Sia Ram, Jai Ramji ki, Ram Naam Satya Hai etc have religious and social connotations. We respect these sentiments. But the BJP is using religious slogan ‘Jai Sri Ram’ as its party slogan in a misconceived manner by way of mixing religion with politics. We do not respect this forcible enforcement of political slogans on others in the name of so-called RSS which Bengal has never accepted.”On Friday, as the CM reached Howrah station platform 22 to attend the event, some BJP supporters carrying party flags and stationed at platform 23 started the sloganeering. A visibly surprised Banerjee was seen complaining to Governor CV Ananda Bose as he arrived for the programme.Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other dignitaries at the event scrambled to do damage control. Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State for Education Subhash Sarkar tried to calm down BJP workers, repeatedly urging them over the loudspeaker not to raise the slogan. But the sloganeering continued and angered Banerjee even further. The CM initially refused to get up on the stage and sat on a chair beside the dais instead.When PM Modi appeared on a giant screen to flag off Vande Bharat, the CM regained her composure. Addressing the event, she offered condolences to Modi for his mother’s death. In her speech, she did not refer to the sloganeering. “Today is a sad day for you personally. It is a great loss of your personal life. May god give you strength and bless you so that you can love your mother … I convey my gratitude to you for being present here virtually as you could not come because of the sad demise of your mother. Please take rest and take care,” she told the PM.Speaking about the development projects inaugurated at the event, Banerjee said, “Today is my happiest way. My dream project, Joka to Taratala, is being flagged off. I am very happy that other projects are also being inaugurated which I started when I was the railway minister. You have also given one new train to the state. I am very happy … I also thank all the officers, ministers, MPs, MLAs and other officials for this. May god give you the strength to do your work.”Following Banerjee’s speech, PM Modi inaugurated the trains. Banerjee, Vaishnaw, and others also waved a green flag to mark the start of the Vande Bharat’s journey. Among the others present at the event were Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, and Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and John Barla.TMC hits out at BJPBut the sloganeering episode sparked a political firestorm, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing the BJP of “misusing ‘Jai Shri Ram’” to insult Banerjee and criticising the Centre for failing to stop the sloganeering. The episode left the BJP somewhat divided, with BJP MP SS Ahluwalia saying the slogans should not have been raised and leaders such as his fellow parliamentarian Locket Chatterjee and Adhikari defending those who did.TMC MP Sougata Roy said, “The inauguration of Vande Bharat Express was a government programme. The Centre invited her to attend it. Now BJP MPs and workers raised the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan. This is a political slogan. If aimed at her, Mamata Banerjee feels insulted. Because of this reason, she did not go to the stage and stood beside the dais. I strongly condemn this attitude of the BJP workers. We cannot tolerate the insult of Mamata Banerjee after she is invited to a government programme.”TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh also criticised the Centre for allowing an incident like this to unfold at a government programme. “There is no problem with the chanting of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. But one must keep in mind the time and place of doing so. The BJP is misusing the name of Ram to disrespect Mamata Banerjee. This is not the first time it has happened.”Ashwini Vaishnaw thanked Banerjee for attending the event but added nothing had happened that warranted such a reaction from her. “We had respectfully invited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend the programme and she responded to our invitation,” the Railways Minister told reporters. “There was no such issue which warranted a strong reaction from her. Workers out of excitement chant slogans. There is nothing wrong with that. But I want to thank Mamata Banerjee for gracing the event with her presence and increasing the dignity of the occasion.”SS Ahluwalia, the BJP MP from Purba Bardhaman-Durgapur, however, said that such slogans should not have been raised. “Different people think in different ways. This was a government event and in a national programme like this slogan of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ should have been raised.”But Locket Chatterjee, the parliamentarian from Hooghly, disagreed with Ahluwalia. “Our party workers started raising slogans after they saw the new train. When PM’s photograph was shown on a giant screen, the sloganeering intensified. It is natural for our workers to raise such a slogan because of the emotion and the passion attached to it. There is no political connection with this.”Targeting the CM, Suvendu Adhikari said, “It is clear from her behaviour that she is haunted by her defeat in Nandigram last year and that’s why she refused to share the dais with me. She had done the same thing in Kalaikunada last year during a cyclone review meeting. She indulged in a similar drama today. She cannot digest her defeat to me (from Nandigram during the Assembly elections). But I promise that she will have to endure this pain for a long time as I will ensure that she becomes a former chief minister of the state.”
In a rerun of the Victoria Memorial incident in 2021, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was greeted with “Jai Shri Ram” slogans on Friday during the inauguration of the Vande Bharat Express at Howrah Station. Even as the incident left Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and other BJP leaders present at the event embarrassed, Banerjee marked her protest by refusing to step onto the dais and sat on a chair beside the dais, along with other government officials.Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the express train as he could not attend the event due to his mother’s demise. Governor C V Ananda Bose, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and Union ministers Nisith Pramanik and John Barla were present at the event.After Mamata Banerjee reached the platform, some BJP supporters on the other side started chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. A visibly surprised Banerjee was seen complaining about the development to Governor Bose after he arrived at the programme. While the railway minister tried to pacify Banerjee, who was initially contemplating leaving the venue, she refused to go on stage and sat on a chair beside the dais instead.When PM Modi appeared on a giant screen to flag off the train, Banerjee regained her composure. Speaking at the event, she offered her condolences to PM Modi. “Today is a sad day for you personally. It is a great loss of your personal life. May god give you strength and bless you so that you can love your mother…I convey my gratitude to you for being present here virtually as you could not come because of the sad demise of your mother. Please take rest and take care,” Banerjee said.Speaking about the development projects that were also inaugurated at the event, Banerjee said, “Today is my happiest way. My dream project Joka to Taratala is being flagged off. I am very happy that other projects are also being inaugurated which I had started when I was the railway minister. You have also given one new train to the state. I am very happy…I also thank all the officers, ministers, MPs, MLAs and other officials for this. May god give you the strength to do your work.”Following her speech, PM Modi waved the green flag to inaugurate the trains. Banerjee, Vaishnav and others also waved a green flag to mark the start of the journey.In 2021, Banerjee was subjected to similar Jai Shri Ram chants at Victoria Memorial in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the birth anniversary celebration of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. At the time, Banerjee had refused to speak at the event and condemned such an incident at a government programme.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to meet her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin in Chennai on Wednesday, sources in the state government said on Tuesday. Banerjee will fly to Chennai to attend the birthday function of West Bengal Governor La Ganesan’s elder brother on Thursday. Sources said Banerjee was likely to visit Stalin soon after reaching the Tamil Nadu capital.With this move, political observers said, Mamata is making a play for the role of the face of the Opposition, out to stitch together an alliance of regional parties against the BJP-led government at the Centre. The scheduled visit drew flak from the Opposition that criticised Banerjee’s plan to attend the family programme of a “temporary” governor on taxpayers’ money.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigations into various scams and subsequent arrests of senior party leaders dealt a major blow to the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) prospects in national politics. The party leadership is trying to set its house in order first before taking the challenge to the BJP in other states.Till December last year, Banerjee made attempts to emerge as the Opposition’s pivot against the BJP at the national level. Her credentials received a boost in May 2021 following her re-election as West Bengal CM for the third straight term. After that, she crisscrossed the country in a bid to position herself as the lead Opposition player against the BJP dispensation. Banerjee met a slew of Opposition leaders — from then Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar — to establish her role in stitching up an overarching Opposition alliance against the BJP. Banerjee’s efforts were not restricted to only visiting Opposition leaders as her party continued to expand its footprint across the country by inducting leaders from various parties, especially the Congress.With Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee playing a key role in the TMC’s expansion plan, the party sought to strengthen its organisation in several northeastern states such as Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam, not to mention the foray into electoral politics in Goa. The party also extended support to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls earlier this year.But following an electoral debacle in Goa and the toppling of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra, the TMC’s national plans came to a shuddering halt.But Banerjee has not given up on her hopes of shaping an anti-BJP front ahead of the general elections in 2024. At a TMC rally in September, she claimed that she would join hands with other Opposition and regional leaders to defeat the BJP in 2024. “All Opposition parties will join hands to defeat the BJP. All of us will be on one side and the BJP on the other. The BJP’s arrogance of 300 seats will be its nemesis. There will be ‘Khela Hobe’ in 2024,” she said.Sources in the TMC said that with the Congress perceived to be gaining momentum in the country through its “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, TMC is once again making attempts to reach out to regional parties. “The leadership never lost sight of its objective for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. A lot of things took place in the meantime that required the party’s attention. Once they are settled, the party will surely resume its national plans,” said a senior TMC leader who did not wish to be named.TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh attributed the lack of the party’s activities nationally to the festive season. “Once this festive season is over, the leadership will resume its work for national politics. Our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is also back from the US after eye surgery. Once he is fully available, the party will give full thrust to execute our party plans,” said Ghosh.Opposition criticises CMThe BJP, meanwhile, took a jibe at Banerjee for once again reaching out to other parties. “Earlier too, she tried to forge an alliance of Opposition parties against the BJP. But her plans fell flat as the BJP emerged victorious in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and increased its seats. This time also, Banerjee will fail in her effort to bring opposition parties together,” said state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha described the proposed meeting between Banerjee and Stalin as an “absolutely meaningless” one. He added, “She went to Goa, Tripura and Assam and she could nothing anywhere. The point is that the TMC has no relevance outside Bengal. She can roam around the country, but that will not yield any result.” Banerjee, he said, must think about her party’s business in Bengal before holding meetings with Stalin and others.State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described Banerjee’s visit as “nothing but an attempt to restore her lost credentials in Indian politics”. He said, “I see no reason why Banerjee is going to Chennai to attend the birthday party of one of the family members of the governor. I think this is a ploy to develop a good relationship with the Centre so that West Bengal does not get another Jagdeep Dhankhar as its governor.”On the proposed meeting between Banerjee and Stalin, who is also the president of Congress ally DMK, Chowdhury said, “Didi (how Banerjee is popularly referred to) knows that she has lost her credibility in national politics. She had held several such meetings with many leaders earlier but those had failed miserably. This is the reason she planned this so-called meeting with Stalin. I see this as her attempt to try to restore her lost relevance in Indian politics.”CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty called Banerjee’s trip an “excuse” to leave Bengal at a time when people are on the streets demanding jobs. “I don’t see any logic behind a chief minister visiting the family programme of the governor on taxpayers’ money. She is actually escaping the state when job aspirants are holding demonstrations demanding employment. She is not at all bothered about them and is fleeing from reality.”— With PTI inputs
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to meet her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin in Chennai on Wednesday, sources in the state government said on Tuesday. Banerjee will fly to Chennai to attend the birthday function of West Bengal Governor La Ganesan’s elder brother on Thursday. Sources said Banerjee was likely to visit Stalin soon after reaching the Tamil Nadu capital.With this move, political observers said, Mamata is making a play for the role of the face of the Opposition, out to stitch together an alliance of regional parties against the BJP-led government at the Centre. The scheduled visit drew flak from the Opposition that criticised Banerjee’s plan to attend the family programme of a “temporary” governor on taxpayers’ money.The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) investigations into various scams and subsequent arrests of senior party leaders dealt a major blow to the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) prospects in national politics. The party leadership is trying to set its house in order first before taking the challenge to the BJP in other states.Till December last year, Banerjee made attempts to emerge as the Opposition’s pivot against the BJP at the national level. Her credentials received a boost in May 2021 following her re-election as West Bengal CM for the third straight term. After that, she crisscrossed the country in a bid to position herself as the lead Opposition player against the BJP dispensation. Banerjee met a slew of Opposition leaders — from then Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar — to establish her role in stitching up an overarching Opposition alliance against the BJP. Banerjee’s efforts were not restricted to only visiting Opposition leaders as her party continued to expand its footprint across the country by inducting leaders from various parties, especially the Congress.With Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee playing a key role in the TMC’s expansion plan, the party sought to strengthen its organisation in several northeastern states such as Tripura, Meghalaya, and Assam, not to mention the foray into electoral politics in Goa. The party also extended support to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls earlier this year.But following an electoral debacle in Goa and the toppling of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra, the TMC’s national plans came to a shuddering halt.But Banerjee has not given up on her hopes of shaping an anti-BJP front ahead of the general elections in 2024. At a TMC rally in September, she claimed that she would join hands with other Opposition and regional leaders to defeat the BJP in 2024. “All Opposition parties will join hands to defeat the BJP. All of us will be on one side and the BJP on the other. The BJP’s arrogance of 300 seats will be its nemesis. There will be ‘Khela Hobe’ in 2024,” she said.Sources in the TMC said that with the Congress perceived to be gaining momentum in the country through its “Bharat Jodo Yatra”, TMC is once again making attempts to reach out to regional parties. “The leadership never lost sight of its objective for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. A lot of things took place in the meantime that required the party’s attention. Once they are settled, the party will surely resume its national plans,” said a senior TMC leader who did not wish to be named.TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh attributed the lack of the party’s activities nationally to the festive season. “Once this festive season is over, the leadership will resume its work for national politics. Our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is also back from the US after eye surgery. Once he is fully available, the party will give full thrust to execute our party plans,” said Ghosh.Opposition criticises CMThe BJP, meanwhile, took a jibe at Banerjee for once again reaching out to other parties. “Earlier too, she tried to forge an alliance of Opposition parties against the BJP. But her plans fell flat as the BJP emerged victorious in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and increased its seats. This time also, Banerjee will fail in her effort to bring opposition parties together,” said state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya.Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha described the proposed meeting between Banerjee and Stalin as an “absolutely meaningless” one. He added, “She went to Goa, Tripura and Assam and she could nothing anywhere. The point is that the TMC has no relevance outside Bengal. She can roam around the country, but that will not yield any result.” Banerjee, he said, must think about her party’s business in Bengal before holding meetings with Stalin and others.State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described Banerjee’s visit as “nothing but an attempt to restore her lost credentials in Indian politics”. He said, “I see no reason why Banerjee is going to Chennai to attend the birthday party of one of the family members of the governor. I think this is a ploy to develop a good relationship with the Centre so that West Bengal does not get another Jagdeep Dhankhar as its governor.”On the proposed meeting between Banerjee and Stalin, who is also the president of Congress ally DMK, Chowdhury said, “Didi (how Banerjee is popularly referred to) knows that she has lost her credibility in national politics. She had held several such meetings with many leaders earlier but those had failed miserably. This is the reason she planned this so-called meeting with Stalin. I see this as her attempt to try to restore her lost relevance in Indian politics.”CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty called Banerjee’s trip an “excuse” to leave Bengal at a time when people are on the streets demanding jobs. “I don’t see any logic behind a chief minister visiting the family programme of the governor on taxpayers’ money. She is actually escaping the state when job aspirants are holding demonstrations demanding employment. She is not at all bothered about them and is fleeing from reality.”— With PTI inputs
Panaji: Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday demanded that chief minister Pramod Sawant must release the names of the nine government officials who, he said, were suspended for corruption over the last four years. TMC said it doubts Sawant’s claims about acting against errant government employees.Addressing a press conference, TMC functionaries said the grievance cell formed by the state is for “namesake” with no concrete action being taken to address people’s grievances. Rodrigues said that despite Sawant assuring people that complaints against government officials will be thoroughly investigated, many complaints have gone unanswered. “The grievance cell formed in 2022 is for namesake. The resolution time of a public grievance must be time-bound, the chief minister’s office must reply within 30 days. A Margao-based NGO wrote to the chief minister back in April 2022 and the CM has failed to reply to date,” said Rodrigues.TMC functionaries also pointed out that despite boasting of a workforce of 70,000 employees, locals and entrepreneurs are unable to get time-bound service.
PANAJI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday demanded that chief minister Pramod Sawant must release the names of the nine government officials who were suspended for corruption over the last four years. The TMC said it doubts Sawant’s claims about acting against errant government employees. Addressing a press conference, TMC functionaries said that the grievance cell formed by the state is for "namesake" with no concrete action being taken to address people’s grievances. “Pramod Sawant should release the names of the nine suspended government officials,” said TMC joint convenor Mariano Rodrigues. Rodrigues said that despite Sawant assuring people that complaints against government officials will be thoroughly investigated, many complaints have gone unanswered. “The grievance cell formed in 2022 is for namesake. The resolution time of a public grievance must be time-bound, the chief minister’s office must reply within 30 days. A Margao-based NGO wrote to the chief minister back in April 2022 and the CM has failed to reply to date,” said Rodrigues. TMC functionaries also pointed out that despite boasting of a workforce of 70,000 employees, locals and entrepreneurs are unable to get time-bound service.
MARGAO: BJP succeeded in retaining its Davorlim seat for the third consecutive term with its candidate Paresh Naik emerging triumphant in the Davorim zilla panchayat bypoll. AAP candidate Siddesh Bhagat came a close second, while Congress candidate Leoncio Raikar finished a distant third. Speaking to reporters after the results were declared, Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuenkar expressed his delight on BJP making a hat-trick in Davorlim and attributed the victory to the hard work put in by all the karyakartas of Davorlim who he said worked tirelessly to ensure the party retained the seat. “This is the victory of the karyakartas. People reposed trust in BJP and in its development agenda. By electing Paresh Naik, people of Davorlim have rewarded us for the development done by the Pramod Sawant government and for the development carried out in Davorlim over the past 10 years,” Tuenkar said. Tuenkar represented the Davorlim zilla panchayat seat for two consecutive terms. The bypoll was necessitated following Tuenkar’s resignation as he contested and won the last assembly election. Naik while crediting the karyakartas for the victory acknowledged the support provided by the party brass, including chief minister Pramod Sawant and party president Sadanand Shet Tanavade. BJP had deployed its election machinery in Davorlim in full strength with Sawant and Tanavade descending on the battlefield days ahead of the polls. BJP had also succeeded in roping in Congress-turned BJP legislator Digambar Kamat for the poll campaign. Significantly, a couple of days before the polls, BJP inducted an independent candidate, Bhagwan Redkar, into the party in a bid to prevent division of votes, a strategic move that proved to have paid off. For AAP which bagged the second position, it has been a significant gain. For its candidate, Bhagat, a former sarpanch of Aquem Baixo panchayat, the result is an indicator of his growing popularity as a grassroots leader. Bhagat has been taking up social causes and has a following among the younger generation in the constituency. For Congress, however, the result has come as a setback. Its candidate, Raikar, had returned to Congress ahead of the polls after a brief tryst with TMC, following in the footsteps of his political master, former Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro.
PANAJI: The results of the zilla panchayat bypolls threw no surprises for BJP, which retained control over Reis Magos and Davorlim constituencies. BJP-backed independent candidate Merciana Vas also had a comfortable victory in Cortalim, settling into the post that her husband vacated ahead of the state assembly elections. While BJP’s victory appeared to be a foregone conclusion, Congress’ decline remains a significant takeaway. Congress failed to pose a serious challenge for BJP. The Congress candidates found themselves relegated to the tail end in all three ZP constituencies. In Reis Magos, Congress managed to eke out just a 6% vote share with the Davorlim Congress candidate doing no better, pulling in just 10% of the votes. In Cortalim, Congress has a 17% vote share. Davorlim BJP candidate Paresh Naik won with 4,080 votes, defeating AAP candidate Siddesh Bhagat who got 3,374 votes. In Cortalim, Cortalim MLA Antonio Vas’s wife won by securing 4,453 votes, defeating another independent candidate Lesley Gama who got 1,511 votes. In Reis Magos, Sandeep Bandodkar (BJP) won with 5,345 votes defeating independent candidate Sainath Korgaonkar who got 1,101 votes. “People have shown that if one supports BJP one can still win an election,” said the Cortalim MLA. “The work that I have done since I entered the elections, this is why people vote for me and this time they have voted for the BJP government too. I have supported the government and people have also supported me.” His wife said that she will complete what her husband had promised in the manifesto. “One major issue is the internal roads, the gutters, which I will take up and complete,” said Vas. The three seats of Reis Magos, Cortalim and Davorlim had fallen vacant after the ZP members quit to contest the state assembly elections in February. A total of 15 candidates were in fray for the ZP polls of which seven were in Davorlim, while there were four each in Reis Magos and Cortalim. Congress had fielded candidates in all the three ZP constituencies, while BJP and AAP had in two constituencies each. The Reis Magos seat fell vacant after BJP’s Rupesh Naik quit the party in January to contest as an independent from Saligao constituency in the assembly elections. The Davorlim ZP seat fell vacant after Ulhas Tuenkar got elected as MLA on the BJP ticket from Navelim. In Cortalim, ZP member Anthony Vas was elected as an independent MLA.
BJP president J P Nadda thanked the people of Goa for the party's victory. (Representational)Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the bypolls to all three Zilla Panchayat constituencies in Goa, results of which were declared today, an official said.The byelections to Davorlim, Reis Magos and Cortalim Zilla Parishad constituencies were held on Sunday and the counting of votes took place on Tuesday.According to the state election commission, BJP candidates Paresh Naik (Davorlim) and Sandeep Kashinath Bandodkar (Reis-Magos) and BJP-backed Independent Merciana Mendes E Vaz (Cortalim) were declared winners.In Reis-Magos constituency of North Goa, Bandodkar polled 5,345 votes defeating Independent candidate Sainath Bablo Korgaonkar who got 1,101 votes, an official said.The BJP's Paresh Naik polled 4,080 votes defeating Siddhesh Santosh Bhagat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who received 3,374 votes, in South Goa's Davorlim, he said.Independent candidate Vaz, who was backed by the BJP, won in Cortalim (South Goa) with 4,453 votes, defeating Independent candidate Lesley Agnelo Gama who got 1,511 votes, the official added.The byelection in these constituencies was necessitated after the respective Zilla Panchayat members resigned to contest the Goa Legislative Assembly election held in February this year.Meanwhile, BJP president J P Nadda thanked the people of Goa for the party's victory in the Zilla Panchayat bypolls."I thank the people of Goa for choosing the BJP in Zilla Panchayat elections. People across the nation have faith in the BJP's progressive & developmental politics led by Hon. PM @narendramodi Ji. Congratulations to CM @DrPramodPSawant, @ShetSadanand and @BJP4Goa for this victory," he tweeted.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comI thank the people of Goa for choosing the BJP in Zila Panchayat elections.People across the nation have faith in the BJP's progressive & developmental politics led by Hon. PM @narendramodi Ji. Congratulations to CM @DrPramodPSawant, @ShetSadanand and @BJP4Goa for this victory.— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) October 18, 2022(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
