from daijiworld’s special correspondent

Panaji, May 9: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidates' list for June two state legislative assembly polls has sprung no surprises as 15 out of 16 sitting MLAs managed to retain their tickets.

Narhari Haldankar, former deputy speaker, did not figure in the list as he himself had declared his retirement from active politics. The senior leader is replaced by firebrand labour union leader Puti Gaonkar in Valpoi constituency.

All other legislators, including Rajendra Arlekar and Dayanand Mandrekar, who were disqualified by the speaker in the office of profit case, have found a place in the list, which was declared on May 8 evening in Delhi.

The BJP, which secured power after 2002 assembly polls and later lost it to the Congress after a coup led by then minister Atanasio Monserratte, has many new faces in its list.

The party is contesting only in 32 constituencies where it has a strong base, while in the rest of the constituencies it will have strategic adjustments, party leaders said.

“The entire profile of our candidates would be a balanced one with representation given to every segment of society,” leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar had told reporters earlier this week before leaving for Delhi with the list.

The list has two women candidates and three minority representatives, meticulously selected depending on the demography of the constituencies. Sitting MLA Fransisco Pedro D’souza will contest in his Mapusa constituency while neo-BJP leaders Antonio Joao Caiado (St Andre) and Agnelo Mariano Silveira (Taleigao) will take congress head-on in their respective constituencies.