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WINS ON PAPER, LOSES ON GROUND Babush returns to power in Panjim, but only just
HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, MARCH 14
Education Minister Babush Monserrate’s panel — Panjim City Corporation Development Front (PCCDF) regained its hold on the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), with a slender margin - winning 16 out of 30 wards. While Babush’s panel bagged 16 seats, Panjim First – the panel supported by BJP and Panjim legislator Manohar Parrikar, bagged 12 seats while two seats were won by independents – Surendra and Ruth Furtado. The scoreline of 16-12 for Babush and Parrikar backed panel is, however. misleading or does not give a clear picture of the tough fight between the two panels as the Taleigao legislator’s candidates won by wafer thin margins in at least two wards besides narrow wins in several others. Babush cannot take any positives from the win as his panel lost three seats compared to last elections while Panaji First (PF) increased its tally from 8 to 12 seats compared to the 2006 elections. The first drawback for PF came in when the announce-
ment of their mayor candidate and panel head Ashok Naik was made. He lost to former deputy mayor Yatin Parekh. This was a major jolt to PF as also to Panjimites Initiative for Change (PINC), which worked overtime to ensure Naik’s win, who is known to be Mr Clean. However, their efforts did not work as Naik lost by
PHOtO fINIsH BABUsH 16 BJP 12 IND 2 111 votes. Naik polled 377 votes as against 488 votes polled by Parekh. Independent candidates Surendra Furtadao and his wife Ruth Furtado retained supremacy in their respective wards IX and X respectively with comfortable margins. Another major jolt for Babush was when he lost two seats in his own constituency Taleigao – Ward No V at Tonca and ward VII at St Inez.
Prominent loser in Babush’s panel was Regina Almeida, who was shifted to ward VII from ward VI to make way for Bento Lorena, lost to Shweta Lotlikar of PF by 76 votes. Sitting corporator of ward V, Bento Lorena who was shifted to ward VI after his ward was reserved for women, won by 85 votes against Anant Sinai Gaitonde of PF. While PF increased its number in the CCP, it also lost one of the three sitting corporators. Rupesh Haldankar who raised many issues during last five years, mainly wrong doings by the ruling panel members, lost to Vivina Nasnodkar of Babush panel by 77 votes. Aires Rodrigues, who was supported by NCP panel and PINC polled significant number of votes. He got 341 votes. In ward XXIX PF managed to retain hold where it’s new face, Pratima Hoble defeated Babush panel candidate Vanita Fernandes. Hoble polled 570 votes while Fernandes got 450. Taleigao MLA’s alliance with St Cruz MLA Victoria Fernandes did not seem to have brought (Continued on page 16)
CHAMPAGNE stUff ON A ‘DrY’ DAY
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The fine print tells a fine story. If this election was all about letting Babush Monserrate know that Panjim was waiting for him to come and rule, then Monserrate, an intelligent man, now knows that isn’t quite true. Monseratte has just about managed to hang on, his grandeur lost, his glory dimmed and his bravado of declaring that his panel would win 27 wards, cut to size There is another way of look-
ing at this. Just four votes made a difference between Monseratte winning the CCP elections and not. In ward 19, his candidate Maria Rita Pereira won by four votes defeating the Panaji First
ANALYSIS candidate. Had these four votes gone in favour of Panaji First the story would have been different altogether. Babush’s other candidate Rudresh Chodankar too won by a slender margin of 16 votes.
Karishetty files assault plaint HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, MARCH 14
In a significant development, former CCP councilor Nagesh Karishetty complained that some supporters of Tukaram Chinnawar, who contested from ward no 8, assaulted his mother and sister this evening. Earlier in the day, Tony Rodrigues was declared victorious from the same ward against Chinnawar. Karishetty alleged that Tukaram’s supporters who were frustrated by their candidate’s loss attacked him when he was out with his mother and sister with steel tumblers. While Karishetty’s sister, who as injured, was admitted to a private hospital, the former councillor and his mother were shifted to GMC for medical examination.
JUST MANAGED: Babush rules CCP for five more years.
Narrow defeats of Panjim First candidates: Deodita Da Cruz lost by 4 votes in ward number 19. Shailesh Ugrekar lost by 16 votes in ward number 23. High voter turnout: This meant more middle class and urban people voted against Babush. Cases: Corruption cases and scams during them of the last corporation.
ON PAGE 2
Panjim Babush’s Mantra
l Hello Panjim, 18 new
faces usher change
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GULP: Babush Monserrate sips champagne while on a victory rally along with his supporters in Panjim on Monday. Photo by Rozario Estibeiro
Another Babush candidate, Kabir Makhija also won by a thin margin of 32 votes in ward 11 against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Manoj Patil. Worse still, Babush has lost ground in his own assembly constituency Taleigao, wherein he lost two seats to BJP candidates backed by PINC. In ward no 5, Rupesh Shirgaonkar lost to Sheetal Naik by a big margin of nearly 200 votes and in ward no 7 Regina Almeida lost to Shweta Lotlikar by 80 votes.
Fresh explosion hits Japan’s nuclear plant Self-Defence Force members, state broadcaster NHK quoted A second hydrogen explosion Tokyo Electric Power Company rocked the quake-hit Fukushima as saying. nuclear plant leaving 11 workers Fears of high radiation levels injured amid fresh fears of a brought back horrific memories ‘meltdown’ as Japan intensified of the nuclear holocaust in the efforts to contain radiation lev- last days of World War II. els. The Fukushima nuclear plant A thick column of smoke bil- has been shut down since Frilowed from Fukushima reactors day’s massive 9.0 magnitude No.3 following the explosion at earthquake and tsunami in 11 am but the container was which 10,000 people have been not damaged, estimated to Japan’s nuclear have perished. safety agency “According said. to the “ We jud ge Fukushima that the possiplant chief ’s bility of a large assessment, amount of rathe container’s dioactive matehealth has rials flying off been mainfrom there is tained. The low,” Chief Cabpossibility is inet Secretary low that masYukio Edano sive radioactold a news tive materials c o n f e r e n c e , A candle, flowers and an inscrp- h a v e s p a t adding that the tion in Japanese have been left tered,” Edano injection of sea- by wellwishers in front of the said. water to cool Japanese embassy on Monday. He said the down the No.3 blast that blew reactor is continuing. away the roof and the walls of The emergency measures of the building housing the conflooding the affected reactors tainer was similar to an explowith sea-water are to avert a full sion Saturday at another reactor meltdown, officials said. A melt- of the same plant. down occurs when a severe failOther media reports said that ure of a nuclear power plant the explosion was heard from system prevents proper cooling 40 kilometers away. of the reactor core, to the extent The top government that the nuclear fuel assemblies spokesman said operations to overheat and melt. pour sea water into the reactor “The reactor building ex- to cool it down were continuing ploded but the primary contain- and the level of pressure in the ment vessel was not damaged. container was stable, Kyodo The control room of unit 3 re- said. mains operational,” the ViennaJapan’s Nuclear and Industrial based International Atomic Safety Agency said wind was not Energy Agency (IAEA) said. blowing in the area and the raThe blast injured 11 people, diation level had not signifiincluding 4 employees and 4 cantly risen. PTI TOKYO, MARCH 14
PINC factor: Panjimites Initiative for Change called for cleansing Panjim’s politics and people responded. As many as 11 PINC-supported candidates won.
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The winner does not take all BY SURAJ NANDREKAR PANJIM, MARCH 14
4 fACtOrs that affected Babush
The above statistics speak volumes of Babush’s poor performance in the polls wherein he has lost three seats compared to the 2006 elections. And if the results are any indication, Babush would be in for a tough fight if he goes ahead with his plans to contest from Panjim for the forthcoming assembly polls against opposition leader Manohar Parrikar. “I am not happy with the result but I am firm on contesting from Panjim,” he said. (Continued on page 16)
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Jose, Nilkant quit, finally HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, MARCH 14
In a sudden development, both the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ministers tendered their resignation to party supremo Sharad Pawar in Delhi today. NCP President Surendra Sirsat confirmed that Jose Philip D’Souza and Nilkant Halarnkar have resigned from the ministerial post after meeting Pawar in Delhi. Incidentally, Sirsat is also in Delhi with both ministers. The political action came just
three days before the Goa legislative assembly is scheduled to meet for the budget session beginning on March 16 and will continue till first week of April. Sirsat said that Pawar is yet to take any final decision on their resignation. “Both the ministers have expressed their unhappiness over
the lack of development in Goa during the past few months and tendered their resignation,” he said. According to Sirsat, Pawar was impressed with the act of both ministers. “He was pleased to hear their views. He was impressed with their loyalty towards the party,” he said. Pawar has reportedly told both ministers to hang on for a while as he needs to speak to Goa desk in-charge Praful Patel (Continued on page 16)