Goa Assembly Polls: St Cruz constituency has more than 14 aspirant candidates

PANAJI: North Goa’s St Cruz constituency has more than 14 aspirant candidates, including independents as of now – 4 of the Congress, 3 or 4 of the BJP and the rest of MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party), AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) and GFP (Goa Forward Party), including independents.

Santa Cruz is one of the original Goa Assembly Constituency seats in the Tiswadi Taluka of the North Goa District in the State of Goa and has around 28,000 registered voters currently. It is a traditionally Congress bastion and Catholic-dominated constituency.

The incumbent MLA Antonio Tony Fernandes was elected on a Congress ticket in 2017, but switched sides to the BJP in 2019, along with 9 other Congress MLAs. Tony is most likely to contest as an independent, with outside support of the BJP.

He is part of the (Panaji MLA) Babush Monserrate lobby and it is rumored that Babush wants him to step down and let his son Rohit Monserrate contest from St Cruz in 2022, something that has not gone down too well with the sitting MLA.

Rodolfo Fernandes, son of the late Victoria “Mummy” Fernandes is also a strong contender, this time for the Congress ticket, and had secured some 6000-odd votes in the 2012 Assembly polls when he contested as an independent.

Rudolfo once upon a time ran and operated an organized crime syndicate in Goa and was a bitter rival of Monserrate. Both gangs clashed often and there were several murders as a result of this gang rivalry, but the duo seems to have burried the hatchet and stick to their own turf, without trampling upon the other’s lawn.

Tome Oliveira (independent), his daughter Shiny Oliveira, who is the only Congress Zilla Panchayat member from North Goa, ex MLA (1989) Victor Gonsalves and Taleigao sarpanch Agnel D’cunha – a close associate of Babush Monserrate, are said to be among the strong contenders in St Cruz. D’cunha is seeking a BJP ticket for the St Cruz constituency it is learnt and has already started working in the constituency.