Goa witnessed the dawn of new-age politics as AAP declared its CM candidate today

Bhandari Community Leader Shri Amit Palekar was declared AAP’s CM candidate by National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal in Donapaula today. Shri Kejriwal stated — Goa wants change. Till now Goa did not have an option, but now Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as a viable option. When we had said that our CM face will be from the Bhandari community, people accused us of doing caste politics. We are not doing caste politics, we are ending the caste politics of these political parties by giving a chance to the most underrepresented community. Goa has the largest population of people from the Bhandari community, yet only once in the last 60 years has someone from this society been the CM and that too for merely two and a half years. There is a lot of pain in the people of the Bhandari society; they want to know why none of their leaders have ever been made CM? Why has not a single party chosen a Bhandari to be their CM in Goa? Shri Amit Palekar has served the people of every religion and caste; Goa cannot get a better CM face than him. I hope the people of Goa will make Amit Palekar CM by giving a huge majority to AAP so together we can build a new Goa: Arvind Kejriwal

Goa witnesses the dawn of new-age politics as AAP declares Amit Palekar as its CM face

AAP National Convenor and Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal visited Goa today to unveil the party’s CM candidate for the coming elections. Local lawyer & social worker turned politician Shri Amit Palekar was named the party’s CM candidate in a press conference held in Donapaula. The event also saw the presence of Shri Palekar Mother and Wife among others. His mother, a former sarpanch herself, asserted that she will ensure till her last breath that her son walks on the path of honesty and integrity. His wife, on the other hand, took to an emotional note to bring back the memories of Shri Palekar’s struggles and activism as she vouched for his credibility as an individual and as party’s CM candidate.

AAP will put an end to Goa’s system of ‘satta se paisa - paise se satta’: Arvind Kejriwal

Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “Today is an extremely important day in the history of Goan politics. Goa wants change for the people of Goa are fed up with the current state of affairs and its governance so far. They are tired of the present political parties and politicians and feel helpless because they have no other options. It’s the same handful of politicians who have captured the entire political arena under them – money for power; power for money – where they come to power, fill their pockets and use all this money to come back to power. This has to change. Goa wants this change, but it did not have options so far. But now, the people of Goa are witnessing how a new party found its footing in Delhi and worked wonders in the National Capital. It makes me truly happy to hear that even the poorest people from the most remote corners of Goa are aware of the Aam Aadmi Party’s work in Delhi – how it developed great schools and hospitals, and made electricity supply free. The news about at least these three - schools, hospitals, and electricity has reached and is appreciated by people throughout Goa, and that they also want change like this.”

AAP’s CM face new to politics; spent his life dedicated to social welfare: Arvind Kejriwal

Describing the new CM face, the AAP Convenor further added, “The Aam Aadmi Party is a relatively new party. This time we have given election tickets to many candidates that are new faces in Goa’s politics – common Goans who have never fought elections before. The CM candidate that the Aam Aadmi Party presents will also be a new face. We had stated earlier that we will nominate that person for the CM post whose heart lies with the people of Goa, and is ready to lay down his life for the state. Our CM candidate is someone who will take the people of Goa along with them, regardless of caste, religion, whether they are rich or poor, from North Goa or South, belonging to whichever assembly; someone who is educated and learned, who knows how the world works and will not be fooled by political antics. It’s not as if we are introducing an entirely new face who has never been seen before. This person has spent his life dedicated to social welfare and has done a lot of work for Goa. He will continue to work with all of Goa’s population for its development and transform the governance in Goa with his work most importantly as an honest man.”

By choosing a candidate from the Bhandari Community we are putting an end to caste politics; those who were not represented earlier will now have a CM to bank on: Arvind Kejriwal* He stated, “The Bhandari community has been a very integral part of Goa’s society. However, there’s a prevalent feeling of injustice and hurt in their minds. The Bhandari community is the biggest section of the society in the state of Goa – a large section, some 30-40 percent of the people here belong to this community. Goa was liberated in 1961, and in the 60 years since then, Goa has only had only one CM from this community, who held the post for a mere 2.5 years. Hence there is the hurt of being unrepresented – that why isn’t someone from their community given the opportunity to lead Goa, to be the Chief Minister? We had declared that we will present the CM face from the Bhandari community, to which other parties raised objections saying we were indulging in caste politics. But no, we are not practising caste politics. On the contrary, we are ending the caste politics and the injustice which was practised by these other parties. None of those parties gave the opportunities to a Bhandari representative, or chose a CM candidate from the community calling them incapable.”

Goa can not get a better candidate than Amit Palekar, he is a man made of honest intentions and hardwork: Arvind Kejriwal

He further declared, “The people from the Bhandari community have dedicated their blood, sweat and tears towards Goa’s development and prosperity. They are engineers, doctors, pilots – there is no such field they have not participated in for Goa’s progress. Despite this, why have they been kept on the sidelines? We will drive this injustice away with today’s announcement for the CM face. It gives me immense pleasure to declare Shri Amit Palekar as Goa’s Chief Ministerial Candidate from the Aam Aadmi Party. He’s a well educated person who has worked tirelessly for societal welfare. Every child in Goa knows his name. Moreover, he recently dedicated his services and took care of people from all walks of life during the Covid crisis. In December, when the virus was predominantly affecting Chrisitans in Old Goa, he did not look at the religion, caste, or community of the people and put his life on the line for them. He is a fresh face in Goa’s politics, and I believe Goa cannot get a better CM candidate than Shri Amit Palekar in today’s day and age. I sincerely hope that the people of Goa will welcome the Aam Aadmi Party in Goa with an overwhelming majority and make Shri Amit Palekar their next Chief Minister. And we all work together to build a new, developed and prosperous Goa.”