AAP opens account in Goa with two seats, mariner unseats former CM Alemao

In Benaulim, AAP candidate Venzy Viegas unseated former chief minister and political heavyweight Churchill Alemao, who contested on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) ticket. In Velim, Cruz Silva defeated Congress’s Savio D’Silva.

AAP candidate Venzy Viegas (left) won from Bernaulim and Cruz Silva won from Velim. (Source: Twitter/@AAPGoa)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is set to form the government in Punjab, has made an entry into the Goa Legislative Assembly also by winning two seats in South Goa — Velim and Benaulim. The AAP had failed to win a single seat when it contested in Goa for the first time in 2017.

In Benaulim, AAP candidate Venzy Viegas unseated former chief minister and political heavyweight Churchill Alemao, who contested on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) ticket. Viegas got 6,411 votes against Alemao’s 5,140 for a victory margin of 1,271 votes.

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Meanwhile, In Velim, Cruz Silva defeated Congress’s Savio D’Silva by 169 votes.

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Viegas, 42, is a first-time legislator and a mariner with a diploma in nautical science from the United Kingdom. He says he hopes to contribute to the state’s shipping industry and the welfare of seafarers. Silva, 52, has an engineering degree from the Goa Engineering College.

AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the two winners and said: “It’s the beginning of honest politics in Goa.”

AAP wins two seats in Goa. Congratulations and best wishes to Capt Venzy and Er Cruz. Its the beginning of honest politics in Goa

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 10, 2022

AAP state convener Rahul Mhambre said that the victory in the two adjoining constituencies in South Goa would lay the foundation for bigger things for the party. “This will lay the foundation for a bigger win in 2027. Our work across Goa has been recognised by the people. We scored our first zilla panchayat victory in Benaulim and we have now won in the assembly election too. Our volunteers worked very hard in both Benaulim and the adjoining constituency of Velim defeating politicians who had over 20 years of experience,” Mhambre said.

Mhambre said that the two AAP MLAs will sit in the opposition and raise various issues, including those related to the environment and corruption in Goa.

The AAP’s other prominent candidates, including Mhambre who contested from Mapusa, its chief ministerial candidate Amit Palekar, who contested from St Cruz and lawyer Pratima Countinho, however, lost.

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The AAP’s win in Benaulim against Alemao, a five-time MLA, would be a confidence booster for the party going forward. Alemao won the Benaulim seat on an NCP ticket in 2017. He was elected from the constituency thrice previously — in 1990 with the Goa People’s Party, in 1995 with the United Goans Democratic Party and in 1999 with the Congress. In 2007, he won the neighbouring seat of Navelim with the Congress.

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