Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar and former MLA Kiran Kandolkar have traded barbs as political activity intensifies ahead of the upcoming Goa Assembly elections.

Halarnkar hit back at Kandolkar’s challenge, saying he has the blessings of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and therefore has nothing to fear. Defending his record, Halarnkar said his development work is visible to the people and questioned whether Kandolkar was “sleeping or awake”.

Kandolkar, meanwhile, announced that he would contest the upcoming election as an independent candidate, saying he enjoys strong public support despite receiving approaches from several political parties.

He said that if elected, he would support the government and back a like-minded candidate in Aldona. Taking a swipe at Halarnkar, Kandolkar said that “breaking coconuts is not development” and claimed that his supporters would defeat the minister this time.