the goan I network
MARGAO
South Goa’s hinterland talukas of Quepem, Ponda, Sanguem, Dharbandora and Canacona – which play host to a large population belonging to the majority community – is emerging as the new battle ground between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress for the 2019 Lok Sabha battle for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat.
At stake in the hinterland are the eight Assembly segments consisting of Quepem, Canacona, Curchorem, Sanvordem, Sanguem, Ponda, Madkaim and Shiroda. If the BJP has almost abandoned Mission Salcete to concentrate in the hinterland to give yet another victory for sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar, the Congress seems to be bracing up to engage the saffron brigade right in the hinterland.
Congress leaders seemed to have understood the BJP game plan of publicly disowning Mission Salcete initiated by former BJP Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to woo the Catholic minorities towards the BJP. Congress leaders in private suspect that the BJP statements vis-à-vis Mission Salcete are aimed at polarizing the majority vote spread across the hinterland towards the BJP.
Against this backdrop, Chalo Sanguem, Ponda, Quepem and Dharbandora by the Congress assumed significance. While the Congress leadership is banking heavily on Salcete’s eight Assembly segments of Margao, Fatorda, Curtorim, Benaulim, Navelim, Cuncolim, Nuvem and Velim for the traditional support, the party is in no mood to ignore the eight
Assembly segments spread across the hinterland talukas.
Congress leaders say the party had lost the South Goa seat to the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election for the simple reason that party candidate Reginaldo Lourenco fared badly for want of any set up to take on the might of the BJP.
Leader of the Opposition, Babu Kavlekar said the Congress is aware that the BJP is concentrating only on the eight hinterland Assembly seats of Canacona, Quepem, Sanvordem, Curchorem, Sanguem, Ponda, Shiroda and Madkaim dominated by the Hindu community. “The BJP candidate is only focusing on the eight assembly seats in the five talukas of Canacona, Quepem, Sanguem, Dharbandora and Ponda. These eight talukas are dominated by our Hindu brothers and the BJP candidate is focusing only these eight seats. This is a challenge facing the Congress party and the party is all geared up to face the challenge,” Kavlekar said.
And, the Congress seemed to have devised a strategy to counter the BJP in the hinterland by exposing the government’s failure to resolve the mining issue. Given that areas such as Sanguem is the home for the Dhangar community, the Congress is bracing up to expose the BJP for its failure to get the ST status for the Dhangar samaj. “The BJP has utterly failed to resolve the mining issue. Both the State and the centre ruled by the BJP has been a failure on the mining front. We will bring this failure before the mining dependents inhabiting these five talukas,” Kavlekar said.
In this task of weaning away the voters from the BJP, the Congress hopes to tap the ‘secular’ image of the party candidate Francisco Sardinha, who had in the past polled sizeable votes in the hinterland mostly in the Assembly segments of Canacona, Sanguem, Quepem and Sanvordem.
That’s not all. The Congress leaders have plans to rope in former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to bring under one common platform the various factions of the Congress, especially in Sanguem and Sanvordem to take the Lok Sabha battle to the opposition camp.
Meanwhile, as part of the Congress’ plan to strengthen the vote bank in the hinterland, the party on Sunday welcomed Netravali deputy Sapranch Abjihit Desai along with three panch members and 105 supporters into the Congress fold. That CLP leader Babu Kavlekar, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat personally welcomed Abhijit Desai and his supporters into the Congress fold indicates the importance the party is according to the hinterland in the battle to regain the South Goa seat.
