Strange as it seems, all political parties appear to be
struggling with the quest for power in Goa. The BJP
released a list of 29 candidates leaving the problematic
constituencies of Canacona and Mayem for
the last, while the Congress is still grappling with
seat-sharing with its allies. The MGP is yet to declare its final
list and the Goa Suraksha Party could lose its star candidate
in Panaji. The aim is to forge a winning combination and it
seems to be eluding all of them. The Aam Aadmi Party is off
the blocks, but it is still not considered as a party that can replace
the main players even though it proved everyone wrong
in Delhi in 2015 when it won 67 of the 70 seats.
The last minute alliance between Congress and like-minded
parties like the NCP, United Goans Party and Goa Forward
Party might be a shot-in-the-arm, but it should have been pursued
earlier. The Congress cried hoarse but the high command
turned a blind eye and the situation today is that seat-sharing
talks are on at a time when campaigning
should have begun. Sadly,
local leaders and the high command
let the situation drift for too long. It
was only when push came to shove
that the party began frantic talks and
the result could be a fragile alliance
with more pitfalls than benefits.
The GFP is new, but it is far more
dynamic than Congress, thanks to
its charismatic leader. What it brings to the table is one possible
seat, Fatorda, and a plan to increase its footprint in Salcete.
The bone of contention here is the Velim constituency which
both Congress and GFP think they can win. This one constituency
could bust the troubled alliance between the two. It all
depends on who blinks first.
The NCP on the other hand has been in Goa for over a decade
and in the last election, it polled 24.5 per cent of the vote in
constituencies that it contested. These votes can now be transferred
to the Congress “ a win-win for both sides.
The Congress agreement with United Goans Party floated
by Atanasio Monserrate is a tenuous one. It will back him in
Panaji and give his wife a ticket in Taleigao. What Monserrate
brings for the Congress is some relief. It now has a candidate
who could prove to be a worthy opponent of Union Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar and his protégé Sidharth Kunkalienkar.
But anything could happen post elections.
Should this conglomeration of parties and political interest
hold out, the Congress will go to the polls with a more respectable
combination. Also, it will be in a position to present the
opposition as a cohesive force to the electorate and dilute the
perception that the BJP is still the front runner in this election.
