The battle lines are drawn. Twelve candidates will fight it out for the two Lok Sabha seats while 16 are in the fray for the bypolls in three constituencies. While the dust is settled and campaigning moves on to the next level, the picture still remains hazy on the marriage of convenience between the MGP and Congress Party.
The BJP candidates may have been bolstered by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s assertion that minorities are in their favour, but the suspense continues over campaign support from alliance partners Goa Forward. Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai who is undergoing a detox programme has till now remained out of the poll action and so have his other two party MLAs. From the allies, the only Independent who has been active is Govind Gaude, that too more as a consequence of his rivalries with the Dhavalikar brothers than anything else. The saffron party, however, is expected to get a huge boost with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Goa today.
The Congress, on the other hand, is fighting with their back to the wall. However, party leaders like Pratima Coutinho and Valanka Alemao have been out of action in South Goa even as Francisco Sardinha is busy mending fences with old foes. Girish Chodankar may have made a humble beginning in the North, but with an unfamiliar terrain, he has an uphill road ahead.
The focus of the season will however be the three bypolls, the results of which could change the power equations in the State. Shiroda is at the heart of action with MGP’s Deepak Dhavalikar taking the fight to BJP’s Subhash Shirodkar. While Deepak has held his cards close to his chest, Monday’s development of the Shiroda Congress Block President campaigning for the MGP candidate could signal a change in allegiances. In Mapusa, MGP’s backing for Congress new recruit Sudhir Kandolkar will hold him in good stead against the sympathy that Joshua D’Souza carries and in Mandrem, the MGP with a voter base of around 2000 could make a difference.
MGP may have been pushed out of the government, but they are no pushovers in this electoral battle. With only Shiroda being on their agenda, MGP could play a crucial role in other constituencies, including the Lok Sabha seats. Wait till April 14, sounded Deepak Dhavalikar, indicating that there is something up the party sleeve. All eyes will be on how far the new found bonhomie between the MGP and Congress stretches.
