Goa Election: Congress promises to celebrate 'Opinion Poll Day' in state if voted to power

With less than a month to the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, state Congress leader Michael Lobo on Sunday announced that if voted to power, his party will celebrate the historic ‘Opinion Poll Day’ across the state.

The ‘Opinion poll day’ was celebrated by the Congress leaders in the state today, January 16 at their Panaji office. The day commemorates the dissent of people of the state against the merging of Goa with Maharashtra in 1967. Goa was a part of the Union Territory of Daman & Diu till 1987 and later carved out to form a separate state. 

Speaking on the occasion, Michael Lobo asserted that Congress will make sure to pay enough tribute to the people who fought to protect the identity of Goa, and they will make the celebration of the Opinion poll day possible. "We will make it happen once we come to power," Lobo said.

Other Congress leaders, including - MP Francis Sardinha, former Union Minister Eduardo Faleiro, Goa In charge Dinesh Gundu Rao, Mahila president Beena Naik, Joe Dais, Dilip Borkar were also present at the occasion. 

'Nehru, Indira Gandhi played significant role in protecting Goa's interests'

Backing Lobo’s comment, Francis Sardinha stated that if Goa had been merged into Maharashtra, it would have been nothing but a district. "We would have not got the opportunity to become MLAs, Ministers and Chief Ministers if Goa was merged into Maharashtra," added Sardinha. He urged Goans to vote out the BJP, which he claims is acting against the state's and people's interests.

"Former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and other Congress leaders played a significant role in protecting the interests of Goa," Eduardo Faleiro said.

Besides, Aleixo Reginald Lourenco, who was once a sitting Goa Congress MLA and later joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC), resigned from the TMC on Sunday. He is expected to rejoin the Congress, and fight the Goa elections from Congress' ticket sources informed. In December 2021, Lourenco had resigned as an MLA from the grand old party. 

Soon after Lourenco's resignation, TMC Goa in charge, Mahua Moitra said, "AITC has received a letter from Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco resigning from primary membership of the party. We had welcomed him into the party as we have countless others. Now that he wishes to leave, we wish him well."

(With inputs from ANI, Image: ANI)