Congress names five more candidates for Goa assembly elections

The Congress on Wednesday announced five more candidates for the February 14 elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly.

While Delailah Lobo has been fielded from Siolim constituency, Kedar Naik will contest from Saligaon and Carlos Alvares Ferreira will fight from the Aldona seat.

Delailah Lobo, along with her husband Michael Lobo, a former Goa BJP minister, joined the Congress party in Panaji on January 11.

An official statement from the party said these candidates have been selected by the Central Election Committee of the party chaired by Sonia Gandhi.

Dr Dinesh Jalmi will be the Congress candidate from the Priol assembly seat while Moreno Rebello will contest from the Curtorim assembly constituency.

Former BJP minister Michael Lobo, who recently quit the saffron party to join the Congress, has been fielded by the Congress party from Calangute constituency, while Lavu Mamlekar, who was earlier with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, will contest from the Marcaim Assembly constituency.

The Congress has also fielded former Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar, who had resigned from the House recently to join the Congress, from his traditional Assembly seat Sanguem.

The party has fielded Aleixo Sequira from Nuvem constituency and Savio D'Silva from the Velim seat on Tuesday evening.

The party had on Tuesday also released another list of nine party candidates for the Goa assembly elections.

So, far it has announced the names of 31 candidates in the state.

The Sonia Gandhi-led party has already announced a pre-poll alliance with the Goa Forward Party, a regional outfit.

The Congress had won 17 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls in the tiny coastal state to emerge as the single largest party.

However, the BJP, which was in second place in terms of seats, quickly stitched an alliance with smaller parties and Independent MLAs to form its government in Goa.