“Pay Rs 25 Lakh, Get Congress Ticket In Goa”: Social Worker Claims Two Leaders Demanding Cash For Tickets

Margao: A social worker from Velim in South Goa, Julian Fernandes has alleged that two senior Congress leaders at the State level are demanding Rs 25 lakh from aspirants who wish to get the Congress ticket in the forthcoming Assembly elections in February 2022.

Fernandes said, “an audio clip is doing the rounds on social media in Goa wherein two Congress workers speaking on the phone with each other accuse their top party leadership in the State of demanding Rs 25 lakh to get MLA candidate tickets”.

According to media reports, last week Congress workers from Velim created a ruckus at the party’s district office at Margao and disrupted the programme organised to induct former Velim MLA Benjamin Silva into the party fold.

Fernandes said the audio clip seems to be a fallout of this incident, but refused to identify the voices in the audio clip. “I do not know who they are and cannot say for sure, but I know that this is due to the fight in the South Goa office.”

The protesting workers were agitated for not being taken into confidence by the Congress leadership before deciding to induct Silva, whom they accused of working against the party during the Zilla Panchayat elections held earlier this year.

According to a report in the Times of India, Congress ZP member from Velim, Julio Fernandes and Seva Dal functionary Antonette Dias were among those who were the most vocal in targeting the party leadership for inducting D’Silva by “ignoring the sentiments of the local party workers”.