Mapusa: The supporters and well wishers of late Francis D’Souza were upbeat after BJP announced Joshua D’Souza as its candidate for Mapusa by-election.
Joshua has been campaigning for the party in the constituency and enjoys support of several thousand supporters besides that of alliance partners including Goa Forward Party.
In the list of candidates announced today, BJP sprung no surprises in Mandrem and Shiroda Assembly Constituencies when they announced candidature of Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar respectively.
However, the much-awaited announcement was about Mapusa seat where Joshua was pitted against Mapusa Municipal Council Chairman Sudhir Kandolkar for BJP ticket.
What increased the probability of Joshua getting the ticket was the support that he enjoyed from Goa Forward Party.
GFP Chief Vijai Sardesai had publicly announced that he supports Joshua to “take ahead the legacy of Francis D’Souza.”
Even on the floor of the House, when condolence motion for Francis D’Souza was moved, speakers including Sardesai and Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte, supported Joshua.
It would be easier for Joshua to win the by-election considering the fact that he has inherited the support of voters and workers from his father, who was the first minority community leader to join BJP.
The 2017 Assembly Election also saw Joshua campaigning for his father and when Francis fell ill, he was handling the office and the crowd that used to arrive there.
