Congress upbeat on both Goa LS seats, 3 assembly bypolls

Panaji, April 21 (IANS) The Congress party is confident of winning the April 23 elections to the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa and the three assembly bypolls with a 5-0 scoreline, state Congress president Girish Chodankar said on Sunday.

The campaigning for the two sets of elections comes to a close later in the day at 5 p.m.

Chodankar also said that the April 23 round of polls is the first since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "snatched" the people's mandate in the 2017 state assembly elections and that the voters would vote against the BJP to seek revenge in all the five seats that are being contested.

"The Congress will win the April 23 Lok Sabha elections in two seats and bypolls to three assembly constituencies by 5-0," Chodankar told reporters at a press conference here.

The Congress, has tied up with the former BJP ally, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, for contesting the two Lok Sabha seats and in one of the three assembly constituencies.

Chodankar said that voters would "unleash" their fury against the BJP, which snatched power in Goa despite emerging as the second largest party in the state assembly in the 2017 assembly polls, and it had failed to act on key issues affecting the state, including the resumption of mining.

"This is the first round of elections in Goa since the BJP stole the people's mandate of 2017, where Congress was the single largest party. They will face a backlash in the state," Chodankar said.

"The BJP has also been unable to resolve the mining issue, despite being in power in Goa and at the Centre. The entire mining belt will show their anger against the BJP on April 23," Chodankar told media.