Goa assembly polls: Rahul Gandhi to hold virtual rally in CM Sawant’s Sanquelim constituency on Feb 2

Weeks ahead of the state assembly election in Goa, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit the state on February 2 for the party’s poll campaign there. Notably, Gandhi will hold a virtual press meet at Sanquelim, chief minister Pramod Sawant’s constituency.

The visit will be Gandhi’s first since the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the assembly polls in the coastal state. The Congress is contesting the polls in alliance with the Goa Forward Party.

Congress has so far announced its candidates for 36 out of the 40 assembly seats in Goa, according to a report by news agency ANI. The party released its first list of eight candidates in December 2021 and in its latest announcement on Thursday (January 27) said that Ranjit Rane would contest from the Poriem assembly seat instead of former CM Pratapsingh Rane. It also fielded Khemlo Sawant from the Sanvordem constituency.

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Pratapsingh Rane was fielded against his daughter-in-law Divya Rane of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and decided not to contest the elections and instead had quit electoral politics.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP has announced its first list of 34 candidates and has offered the Sanquelim assembly seat to CM Sawant. The party has also fielded Atanasio Monserratte from the Panaji assembly seat, which former defence minister Manohar Parrikar from 1994 till his demise in 2019.

Gandhi’s announcement to visit Goa would follow a visit by BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to address three indoor public meetings in the state on Sunday, news agency PTI reported. Shah will address public meetings in Ponda, Sanvordem and Vasco assembly constituencies, beginning at 4.30pm, Sadanand Shet Tanavade, president of BJP’s state unit, told PTI. “All three public meetings will be held indoors with 50 per cent seating capacity and all the protocols related to Covid-19 will be followed during these events,” Tanvade said.

The state assembly elections in Goa have been scheduled for February 14 and the counting of votes will be done on March 10, according to the ECI’s schedule.

(With agency inputs)