Tables turn once again, now Joaquim claims majority in Cuncolim
ARVIND TENGSE, MARGAO | 28 October 2015 20:21 IST
Joaquim & Yuri Alemao along with 7 councillors
First it was John Monteiro, then it was Rajan Naik and now it’s Joaquim Alemao, who claims to have been forming the council at Cuncolim municipality.
The former Congress MLA has managed to win over one lady councillor from BJP camp by assuring to share the chairperson’s post among four women councillors in five years.
He already has three lady councillors with him and Cuncolim is reserved for woman chairperson.
To get majority councillors in the 12-member council, Alemao even compromised with Mario Moraes, his known arch rival in Cuncolim.
In a press conference held in in Margao today evening, Alemao presented all the four to-be-chairpersons - Lavita Mascarenhas, Anju Luis Painginkar, Panzy Coutinho and Sucorina Coutinho, along with three more councillors.
Soares, among them, would be the vice chairperson.
Alemao managed to get total three councillors from BJP camp to make it 7, along with his four councillors.
One of them is the lady councillor Lavita Mascarenhas, besides Moraes and Shashank Desai.
Alemao had earlier Udesh Gaonkar and three ladies – one Painginkar and two Coutinhos (mentioned above).
Soares, who had contested Assembly poll against Naik-Alemao-Monteiro, said he was this time supported by all three of them in the council elections.
However, even at Alemao’s press conference, Moraes did not fail to praise BJP MLA Rajan Naik for the development he has made in Cuncolim.
In fact Soares was camping at BJP MLA Naik’s residence till 4.30 pm. He excused himself to pick up his child from the school and suddenly appeared in Margao at Alemao’s press conference.
BACKGROUND
The whole drama started yesterday when John Monteiro started claiming that 6 of his candidates have won elections, with 4 by Alemao and only 2 by sitting BJP legislator Rajan Naik.
By evening, the tables turned and Naik claimed that Monteiro doesn’t have a single councillor with him and he is forming council with the support of 8 councillors.
Naik had yesterday told goanews.com that they are considering Polita Carneiro as the probable chairperson.
Perhaps taking advantage of this, Alemao started wooing Mascarenhas from Naik camp, along with two more male councillors.
By today evening, now Alemao claims that he is having 7 councillors and even produced them before the media (seen in the photo).
However, Moraes coming for Alemao’s press conference and praising BJP MLA has raised doubts whether the former Congress MLA will actually have all 7 of them with him on the day the chairperson is elected.
