Panaji, April 28
The BJP on Sunday nominated late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's aide Sidharth Kuncalienkar as its candidate for the Panaji Assembly seat bypoll, ignoring the candidature of his son Utpal Parrikar.
Kuncalienkar's nomination was approved after much delay by the Bharatiya Janata Party's central election committee on Sunday, according to a statement issued by the committee's secretary JP Nadda.
Reacting to the decision, Utpal Parrikar said that one should not be disheartened by obstacles, and that he would do anything which his party directs him to do, which includes campaigning for Kuncalienkar.
Utpal Parrikar had been considered a front-runner for contesting the May 19 bypoll and his name was expected to be announced on Friday, but a public announcement by former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar that he was also entering the contest, resulted in the party opting for Kuncalienkar -- who has been elected Panaji MLA twice -- instead.
A senior party official said that with the entry of Velingkar into the fray, the contest for the Panaji seat would be a difficult one, something which the party elders did not wish Utpal to face in his debut electoral stint.
Kuncalienkar will face Atanasio Monserrate of the Congress, Valmiki Naik of the Aam Aadmi Party and Velingkar, who is contesting on a Goa Suraksha Manch ticket.
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2GQCpyw
via Today’s News Headlines
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