Panaji, Sep 26 (IANS): Goa BJP President Sadanand Shet Tanavade on Saturday said that the fact that dozens of BJP workers, including Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, tested coronavirus positive only showed that the cadres were out in the field during the pandemic.

"Sixty eight BJP workers throughout Goa tested positive during the pandemic. They tested positive precisely because they were out in the field, in the service of people, unlike Congress leaders who stayed indoors and only issued statements," Tanavade said.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the state Bharatiya Janata Party executive meeting held in Mapusa town, located a short distance from Panaji, Tanavade said that the BJP was already actively preparing for a host of elections, including zilla panchayats and municipalities, ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

In all, one fifth of Goa's 40 legislators have tested positive, including Sawant, former Deputy Chief Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, former Chief Ministers Churchill Alemao and Ravi Naik, MLAs Antonio Fernandes, Nilkanth Halarnkar, Dayanand Sopte and Clafasio Dias.

Union Minister of State for Defence and AYUSH Shripad Naik, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Goa, had also tested positive.

Tanavade said that the BJP in Goa was gearing up for the upcoming polls delayed due to the Covid-19 spread. "The BJP will return to power with an absolute majority in Goa in 2022," he said.