Panaji: Over a month after the death of former Goa tourism minister Matanhy Saldanha, his wife Elena on Monday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with an aim to contest the Cortalim by-election, necessitated following the demise of her husband.
BJP leader Matanhy Saldanha, who was inducted in the Parrikar-led Cabinet as the tourism minister, had died on the intervening night of March 20 and 21 after suffering a massive cardiac arrest.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, along with BJP Goa chief Laxmikant Parsekar, today welcomed Elena into the partyfold at a function held here.
Party sources said that Elena would be sworn in as a minister on May 6, two days after the newly-inducted Governor B V Wanchoo, who takes charge of his office on May 4.
Elena, a newcomer in the politics, said that the electorate of Cortalim will vote for her victory at the bypoll scheduled on June 2.
Addressing a gathering, she said that she would do her best to fulfill the promises made by her late husband in the election manifesto.
He was a leader of fishing community and also led several struggles against polluting industries.
The Chief Minister said that his government has been working to fulfill Matanhy's dream of getting special status for Goa. "Everyone likes a special status. It is not in our hand. We will lobby with the Centre to get the status," he said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, April 30, 2012, 20:55