Goa elections: Faleiro, TMC candidate from Fatorda, withdraws from poll contest
Faleiro reportedly told his supporters that his candidature was announced without any consultation and that he was upset with the TMC leadership for fielding him from a seat he was not familiar with.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) vice-president and former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro on Friday announced his withdrawal as party’s candidate from Fatorda constituency for the February 14 assembly elections.
Faleiro, who was pitted against Goa Forward supremo Vijai Sardesai, reportedly told his supporters that his candidature was announced without any consultation and that he was upset with the TMC leadership for fielding him from a seat he was not familiar with, people aware of the developments said.
“I hand over the baton for Fatorda to a young, dynamic woman, advocate Seoula Vas. I am grateful to the national chairperson for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Goa,” Faleiro said.
“However, given my experience, it is my duty to work at the state level, campaign across Goa for the success of all the candidates. I did not want to limit myself to one seat so I requested the party to give the ticket to a young woman to contest,” he added.
Speaking in support of Vas, TMC MP and party’s Goa incharge Mahua Moitra said: “We are here to give a great fight in Fatorda. We have taken this decision in favour of an educated young dynamic woman who is not connected to any political family.
This decision is in line with the party’s vision of women empowerment, giving Goa fresh, credible faces and ensuring that dynamic youth are a part of the decision-making process at large.”
After quitting the Congress along with few others, Faleiro joined the TMC in the presence of TMC president and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata in September last year. He was subsequently elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal, becoming the first person from Goa to become a TMC MP.
What followed was an “aggressive and lavish” campaign in Goa as the TMC began expanding its footprint in the state and welcoming members from other parties, mainly from the Congress.
However, from among the core group that first joined the TMC along with Faleiro, key members Lavoo Mamledar and Yatish Naik quit the party in December. Mamledar resigned after the TMC announced an alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, a party he was once a member of but has since fallen out with. Naik quit after he was denied a TMC poll ticket.
Another member, Antonio Clovis da Costa, who had also joined along with Faleiro, was also denied a ticket in favour of Benjamin Silva, who had joined from the Congress a few days prior.
The biggest blow to the TMC and its plans of building ahead of the elections perhaps came when Reginaldo Lourenco, a sitting Congress MLA who had quit the party and switched to the TMC in December, quit within three weeks of joining on the grounds that his voters and supporters had started “despising him” for having switched to the TMC.
Lourenco also said that he wasn’t given what he was promised and would be contesting the upcoming polls as an independent.
The TMC, however, has managed to retain a handful of winnable candidates and remains on track to open its account in its second attempt at trying to establish its presence in the state.
Back in 2012, the party was launched in the state under the leadership of former chief minister Wilfred de Souza, but failed to win any seats.
