Newsletter: Mormugao victory brings relief to Goa CM
Rupesh Samant Panaji, Nov 7 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat was the most relieved person on November three, when congress won Mormugao constituency Lok Sabha by-poll. Kamat, a former BJP man who joined the Congress, is ruling the state as a consensus candidate when the party could not pick any of the main contenders Pratapsingh Rane and Ravi Naik for the Chief Minister's post. The consensus zeroed in to head the Congress led coalition. This, perhaps, reflected much in Kamat's tenure as a Chief Minister, this businessman-turned-politician was busy day in and day out trouble shooting the rebels within the party and weathering the scathing attack from the opposition. Mormugao constituency by-poll, an election which was insignificant nationally and locally, was also labelled as litmus test for the Kamat-led government. BJP through their election campaigns had said that the by-poll would spell doom for the congress candidate Fransisco Sardinha in the by-poll. The BJP had also chosen their candidate from catholic faith, Wilfred Mesquita, who was expected to take Sardinha head on for this election. What added to the Chief Minister's worry was the lowest turnout on October 31 when hardly 36 per cent voters turned up. Rest preferred to stay back or move on vacation as the government had declared the polling day as a holiday for entire Goa. BJP in their quick reaction on the polling day had stated that low turnout was in its favour as the party boasted of committed voters, who came out and voted. PTI http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/61CC610E84EA5A426525738C0034E7CE?OpenDocument - Forwarded by: Sanny de Quepem <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit: http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Goa's first and only Konkani music station online, brought to you by Ulysses Menezes & Gaspar Almeida of www.goa-world.com based in Kuwait. Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
