NCP continues to look out for Pale seat

Panaji, July 28 (UNI) The NCP continues to keep the cinders burning on the issue of contesting from Pale constituency that fell vacant, following the demise of incumbent Congress legislator Gurudas Gauns.

The NCP president Dr Wilfred D'Souza told mediapersons here today that he himself would brief the party chief Sharad Pawar soon on the issue, claiming the seat on the party ticket.

It was only last week that its legislature wing leader and Revenue minister Jose Philip D'Souza had called on Mr Pawar in Mumbai on the issue, even as GPCC chief Francisco Sardinha, MP, said that question of NCP contesting from Pale seat would not arise as it belonged to the Congress.

''We don't mind Health Minister (Independent) Viswajeet Rane's wife or his nominee contesting the seat on NCP ticket, as he is the king in the neighbouring Bicholim and Sanqualim constituencies,'' Mr D'Souza said.

Mr Rane, with three NCP legislators and two of MGP constitute a group (G-6) in the 40-member House, continued to support the Congress-led government in Goa, at the instance of Pawar after engineering two coups to topple Digambar Kamat government on power sharing.

Interestingly, the NCP which was allotted six seats to contest the June 2, 2007 elections, could win only three seats, with two of the legislators becoming ministers and the other parliamentary secretary.

Yet NCP continued to nurture one grievance or the other, demanding allocation of government positions to its office bearers.

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