NCP claims Panaji seat for coming Assembly polls

Panaji, Jan 25 (UNI) The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has staked claim to contest the Panaji seat during the forthcoming Assembly polls here, asserting that the Congress had lost the seat everytime it contested, except twice, in 46 years.

In a press note, NCP spokesman and general secretary Surendra Furtado said the Congress could not claim the Panaji seat because history had shown that ''Panaji was its weak base''.

Replying to the charges levelled by Youth Congress president Girish Chodankar, Mr Furtado said the NCP did not field its candidate in Panaji during the last election as at that time, the party was new.

Besides, he said, the primary objective then, was to keep away the communal forces. ''But inspite of the one-to-one fight in Panaji the Congress could not wrest the seat,'' he pointed out.

Mr Furtado said the Congress could not claim the Panaji seat now, just as Mr Chodankar could not claim the Fatorda seat, after he lost his deposit against BJP nominee Digambar Kamat in Margao.

The NCP is claiming 18 of the Opposition seats, he said ''because we do not want to upset the Congress applecart''.

UNI