This is my victory, BJP did not help: Monserratte after Panaji win

Atanasio Monserratte, who won from Panaji assembly constituency on BJP ticket, on Thursday said it was his victory and not that of the party.

Monserratte, who defeated Independent candidate Utpal Parrikar by 674 votes, also claimed that the party did not support him.

This is not a victory of the party. This is my victory. The party did not stand with me, it never did any damage control, said Monserratte, who crossed over to the BJP from Congress only in 2019.

The BJP cadres in Panaji did not accept him but the people of Panaji stood by him, he said.

Utpal Parrikar contested the election on his own after the BJP refused him ticket from Panaji which his late father and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar had represented in the past.