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35-606: In Goa, the UGDP is however not related to the old United Goans Party . The name United Goans Democratic Party is a mere spin-off of the name of the United Goans Party, and their election symbol of "two leaves" is a spin-off of the symbol of "two leaves" which was designated in the plebiscite to determine whether Goa should be independent, as against the rose symbol for voting Goa as a part of Maharashtra. The present United Goans Democratic Party had absolutely no role to play in

70-576: A UGP ticket, and on a Janata Party ticket on the last occasion, after the merger of the UGP into the Janata Party. In 1967, he got 7087 (59.94%) votes, as against 121 (1.02%) by the MGP, and 570 (4.82%) by Independents. His main rival was a UG (Furtado) candidate, contesting on behalf of a party that had broken away from his. The UG (Furtado) party won 4045 votes (34.21%). In the 1972 elections, he retained

105-583: A memorandum that such a monumental decision affecting the future of the State could not be left to legislators alone, but should be put before the people to decide. Finally the central government agreed to hold a referendum in Goa . The UGP demanded that all people from Goa, regardless of where they were staying in India, should be allowed to vote. Those staying outside Goa could vote by postal ballot. However this request

140-566: A separate identity). In the last elections he rode on the back of the Save Goa movement, a movement by various groups to save Goa from the badly prepared Regional Plan, and formed a party on ts own. His newly formed party won two seats, Navelim for himself and Curtorim for his protege Reginaldo Lourenco, under the name "SAVE GOA FRONT", a clear rip off of the Save Goa Movement which was ruling the press releases at that time. The UGDP

175-616: A vote on the merger should be conducted in the Goa Assembly. De Sequeira, along with others went to Bangalore where an AICC session was being held and met Shastri. They opposed the move to get the merger voted in the Assembly and impressed on Shastri and Kamraj, the need to put this question before the people of Goa themselves. De Sequeira shrewdly managed to get the backing of the legislators of Mysore state (now Karnataka ). He impressed them that if Maharashtra managed to convince

210-516: Is a party which takes up every issue that crops up before it. Its two supreme leaders Anacleto Viegas and Radharao Gracias always take up opposite stands, with one supporting the issue and the other opposing it. Whichever side of the issue appears to be getting successful, gets the full UGDP backing, with the opposing leader relegating himself to a spectator. The said two party supremos, Anacleto Viegas and Radharao Gracias are also senior advocates at Margao and South Goa . Both have been presidents of

245-576: Is a political party in state of Goa . It was formed in 1963 in the former union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu , with Jack de Sequeira as its party leader , when multiple regional parties merged during the Konkani language agitation . After Goa's accession into the Indian union in 1961, Goa became a union territory with its own legislature. Elections to the state assembly were scheduled to be held in 1963 . There were calls from many sections in Goa and

280-470: The Lyceum , he studied medicine at Escola Médica de Goa . However, his father died when he was 21, forcing him to discontinue studies in order to look after the family business. At the age of 23, he married Lilia Margarida de Gouveia Pinto. They had nine children. He died on 17 October 1989, aged 74. De Sequeira was the leader of a group known as Goyncho Pokx , which later merged with other groups to from

315-488: The United Goans Party (UGP or UG Party). He represented Santa Cruz assembly constituency three times. He lost in the fourth attempt in 1979 and did not contest elections again. De Sequeira was the founder president of the United Goans Party. He played a pivotal role in convincing the government of India to hold an opinion poll to decide the issue of the merger of Goa into the state of Maharashtra . Goa

350-917: The "Father of the Opinion Poll " , which led to the former territory attaining statehood in 1987. De Sequeira was Goa's first Leader of the Opposition when the Goa, Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly was launched in 1963 . He was born to Goan parents in British Burma , and shaped politics in Goa during the 1960s and 1970s in particular. João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira was born in Rangoon , British Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar ) on 20 April 1915, to Erasmo de Sequeira and Ana Julia de Sa e Sequeira. After completing schooling in Portuguese medium at

385-474: The MGP with its majority would push through the merger. The UGP MLAs visited New Delhi several times to convince them to hold a referendum in Goa. First they met Jawaharlal Nehru ; and after his death, met Lal Bahadur Shastri to press for a referendum. However Shastri died in 1966 in Tashkent and this decision was now left to the new prime minister Indira Gandhi . The UGP delegation met her and submitted

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420-596: The Margao and South Goa Advocates Councils. Such appointments have led them to lead their own political campaigns under the banner of the Advocates' Union. In Jharkhand the group of Joba Majhi is formally attached to the party, in order to be able to use the party election symbol 'two leaves'. In 2005 two seats in the Jharkhand assembly were won on the UGDP symbol. United Goans Party The United Goans Party

455-452: The NCP) along with his hand-picked three other family members were defeated in the hustings, causing the worst Congress defeat since the time when Congress first ruled Goa, almost thirty years ago. The present BJP government has rejected all attempts of the UGDP of showing that they are close to the present dispensation. The lone UGDP legislator from the last assembly Mr. Mathany Saldanha however,

490-539: The UGP(Sequeira group) to split into two groups: UGP (Sequeria Group) and UGP (Naik Group) . He lost the next parliamentary election to Eduardo Faleiro of UGP-N in March 1977. In the next Assembly elections, UGP-S managed to win just three seats as compared to UGP-N, which won 10 seats. The UGP had never won an election. It split, first in 1967 and the second time in 1977. Its decline (1977–1989) corresponded with

525-516: The United Goans which explains the success of Dr. Jack Sequeira, the leader of the United Goans Party, in Panjim where there were only 2,839 Christian voters as against 5,130 Hindu voters On 16 January 2007 a life sized statue of de Sequeira was inaugurated at Calangute . Another statue was inaugurated on 20 April 2007 at Dona Paula . The cost of the statue was borne by his family and not by

560-564: The brains behind the United Goans Party. The main support base for the UGP came from the Catholics of Goa and upper-caste Hindus. Although it was predominantly Christian it did not exclude other groups and also put up Hindu and Muslim candidates. In the first elections held in 1963, the MGP secured 16 from a total of 30. UGP put up candidates in 24 constituencies and secured 12 and formed the opposition. Two seats, one from Daman and Diu each went to independent candidates. De Sequeira became

595-530: The cause. The opinion poll was held on 16 January 1967. A total of 3,17,633 votes were polled. The merger was defeated by 34,021 votes. In 1963, de Sequeira won Panjim with 2761 votes (42.02%) as against 2347 for the MGP (35.72%), 1371 for the Congress (20.87%) and 91 votes (1.39%) for Independents. In 1967, 1972 and 1977, de Sequeira contested the Santa Cruz constituency, for the first two times on

630-440: The centre to merge Goa into Maharashra, it would only bolster their case for Karwar and Supa . However Shastri died in 1966 in Tashkent and this decision was now left to the new Prime Minister Indira Gandhi . Again de Sequeira and his legislators met the new Prime Minister and submitted a memorandum that such a monumental decision affecting the future of the State could not be left to legislators alone, but should be put before

665-423: The first election, the MGP demanded that Goa be merged into Maharashtra. The MGP wanted that the issue should be voted in the Goa legislature, as was the norm in a representative democracy. The UGP was of the opinion that such an important decision should not be left to them MLAs but should be put before the people of Goa to decide. If the merger was to be voted in the Goa legislature, it was a foregone conclusion that

700-685: The leader of the Opposition. Its main manifesto item was "Separate Statehood in and outside the Assembly of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu and in Parliament". Among its key promises were the setting up of a University, industrialization, land reforms and the recognition of Konkani as the regional language. The Church supported the Catholic -dominated UGP against the Communist -led Frente Popular . Following MGPs victory in

735-659: The neighbouring state of Maharashtra to merge the tiny state into Maharashtra. This demand was spearheaded by the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party . Sensing that the merger would mean the gradual disappearance of Goa's distinct identity and culture, four parties merged to form the United Goans Party in September 1963. The four parties were the Partido Indiano, Goan National Union , United Front of Goans and Goancho Paksh . Its first president

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770-538: The next election. The Sequeira Group used The Hand as a symbol. The symbol was associated with St. Francis Xavier . It contested all thirty seats this time, claiming primary responsibility for the Opinion Poll and its verdict and promised a separate Konkani State of Goa . In 1977, Erasmo de Sequeira joined hands with the Bharatiya Lok Dal , headed by Charan Singh . He did this without consulting his party members. The party members were enraged, causing

805-588: The party took one out of 40 seats. It was allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while in opposition in Goa and in the national government. In the Assembly elections of 2012, the United Goans Democratic Party could not win a single seat, while its lone MLA from the previous election, Mr. Mathany Saldanha, contested and won on a BJP ticket. The United Goans Democratic Party and its founder Churchill Alemao (now in

840-475: The people to decide. The referendum could be conducted via a signature campaign or by secret ballot . Since a large number of Goans worked outside Goa, and indeed, outside India itself as expats , UGP demanded that these expats should be allowed to vote by postal ballot . Parliament finally agreed to conduct a referendum by means of secret ballot but ruled out postal ballots. Now that the referendum would be conducted, de Sequeira feared that Bandodkar may use

875-533: The plebiscite to decide whether Goa should be a separate entity or not, but they continue to use the Two Leaves symbol and a name similar to that of the party which played a major role in ensuring that Goa remains distinct, the erstwhile United Goans Party. UDGP is much weaker than its claimed predecessor, the United Goans Party which was the main opposition party during the 1960s. At the June 2007 state elections,

910-429: The rise of the Congress, a national party which did not win any seat in the first elections. Finally it merged with the Congress. Dr. Jack de Sequeira João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira (20 April 1915 – 19 February 1989), popularly known as Dr. Jack de Sequeira , also known as Jak Siker according to local naming conventions , was an Indian politician and former surgeon who is widely considered in Goa to be

945-444: The seat with 6586 votes (57.51%), with his closest Independent rival gaining 4483 (39.15%) votes. In 1977, de Sequeira retained Santa Cruz with 4462 votes (46.11%), beating the MGP which scored 2656 (27.45%) votes. In his analysis of the 1963 Goa elections, Ram Joshi argues that the urban Hindu elite, perhaps more ambitious politically, was more inclined to vote for a party which stood for separate statehood. Many of them supported

980-529: The state’s administrative and law-enforcement machinery to browbeat the anti-mergerists into submission. The UGP demanded that the MGP government resign so that the referendum could be conducted in a free-and-fair atmosphere. On 3 December 1966, the MGP government resigned. De Sequeira also traveled extensively exhorting people to vote against the merger. In this cause, he also visited places such as Colaba and Kalyan in Bombay, convincing Goans staying there to support

1015-502: The very idea of an Opinion Poll. A splinter group of four MLAs headed by Dr. Alvaro De Loyala Furtado came to be known as United Goans (Furtado Group). The main body of the party was known as United Goans (Sequeira Group). The U.G.(F) received recognition from the Election Commission and used The Rising Sun as its symbol. The Furtado Group received the support from Goa Organised Alliance and fielded eight candidates in

1050-638: The victory and touted it as a mandate that the majority of Goans were in favour of merger. At the time of Goa’s accession into India, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had categorically stated that Goa would retain its distinct identity. Following MGPs victory and the raised pitch for merger. De Sequeira visited New Delhi along with his MLAs and impressed Nehru about the need of an opinion poll on this matter. However Nehru died before Parliament could take this decision and Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded him as Prime Minister. A delegation consisting of MGP MLAs and Maharashtra’s leaders went to New Delhi to convince him that

1085-538: Was Dr. Jack de Sequeira . The United Goans Party was formed by merging Goencho Pokx of Jack Sequeira, the Partido Indiano of Alvaro de Loyola Furtado , the Goa National union of J M Desouza and United Fronts of Goans and Democratic Party who shared a common goal, that of separate identity for Goa, and which was against the merger of Goa with Maharashtra. The think tank for the United Goans Party came from its second in command, Dr. Loyola Furtado, who many consider as

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1120-515: Was annexed into India by an Indian Army operation on 19 December 1961. It was integrated into the Indian Union in 1962. Goa's first polls were held on 9 December 1963. The two main parties UGP and MGP were formed with two opposing ideologies. The MGP wanted to merge the state of Goa into the newly formed state of Maharashtra whereas UGP wanted to retain independent statehood for the former Portuguese enclaves . The United Goans Party (UGP)

1155-471: Was denied. They also demanded that all deputationinsts from Maharashtra should not be allowed to vote and that the Bandodkar ministry should resign to conduct a free and fair poll. The centre conceded the demand for Bandodkar's resignation. The opinion poll was held on 16 January 1967. A total of 3,17,633 votes were polled. The merger was defeated by 34,021 votes. A section of UGP MLAs were unhappy with

1190-510: Was formed in 1962-63 following the merger of three local parties. De Sequeira was its founding president. Of the 30 seats in the assembly 28 belonged to Goa , and one each to Daman and Diu . MGP formed the government, having secured 16 seats while UGP secured 12. The assembly of Goa, Daman and Diu convened on 9 January 1964. Dayanand Bandodkar of MGP became the first Chief Minister. The MGP and politicians in Maharashtra were elated at

1225-470: Was rewarded for finally quitting the UGDP by having been allotted a prime ministry. After his untimely death, his widow is holding the responsibility. The UGDP in the meanwhile, has lost its recognition as a party and has also lost its right to ownership of the "two leaves" symbol. Its original leader though, went beyond using a name similar to the UGP (United Goans Party) and a symbol similar to Goa's Opinion Poll (plebiscite to determine whether Goa should be

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