PANAJI : Refraining from declaration of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate for the forthcoming state assembly election, Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Thursday released the first list of BJP candidates for the February 4 assembly elections in Goa.
At a press conference held in the national capital, he also released a list of 27 candidates for Punjab assembly elections slated to take place on the same day.
The first list of Goa candidates of the BJP comprises of 29 candidates out of which 18 are sitting MLAs, including Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza, and Minister for Forest and Environment Rajendra Arlekar.
Ramrao Wagh, brother of the sitting St Andre MLA, Vishnu Wagh who is recuperating in a Mumbai hospital, has been finalised for the same legislative assembly seat.
Besides 18 sitting MLAs, others like Rajesh Patnekar (Bicholim), Pandurang Madkaikar (Cumbharjua), Mauvin Godinho (Dabolim), Damodar Naik (Fatorda) and Prakash Velip (Quepem) have been legislators on one or more occasions, in the past, while Sharmad Pai Raiturcar and Dattaprasad Naik have already contested polls before, in Margao and Taleigao constituencies, respectively. The remaining four candidates in the first list of the BJP comprise of new, young faces, who would be contesting the assembly polls for the first time. They are Guruprasad Pawaskar (Porvorim), Hemant Golatkar (St Cruz), Ramrao Wagh (St Andre) and Pradeep Shet (Marcaim).
The BJP has already expressed its desire to contest in 37 out of the total 40 electoral constituencies at this election.
Results of the elections in the two states would be announced on March 11.
