Senior national leaders, including Prime Minister NarendraModi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh descended on Goa raising theelectoral heat. Leaders from across the political spectrum were flying in andout of Goa reaching out to voters and drumming up support. The kind ofpolitical buzz witnessed in this election only goes to show how crucial Goa isin the larger scheme of things for national political players.
Never in the history of Goa have people seen tall figureslike Amit Shah going on door-to-door campaigning for BJP candidates. Never hasGoa seen a defence minister appealing on behalf of Goa candidates. And neverhas Goa seen the PM making such an impassioned electoral pitch.
The BJP juggernaut appears to be on the roll, but,certainly, the pressure is showing. The late flurry by the BJP, the fieryspeeches and the sudden change of plans by Amit Shah to extend his stay in Goaindicate that the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to take the fight to theopposition, now that it is amply clear that it is the saffron brigade versusthe rest.
The PM’s rally has been strategically held in Mapusatargetting the heart of Bardez, a taluka where the party is facing a monumentalchallenge after the exit of Michael Lobo. More importantly, Modi blamed PanditJawaharlal Nehru for delaying Goa’s Liberation, and launched a broadsideagainst Congress failures, making it clear that Congress is the principalopposition for the BJP in Bardez.
Prime Minister Modi showered praise on the governance ofPramod Sawant and highlighted the success stories in 100 per cent vaccination,open-defecation free, Har Ghar Jal, tourism, etc. So emphatic was the PM thatonlookers began to overlook the shortcomings in some of these much-hypedmilestones like the water delivery. The PM touched upon an array of subjectsinfusing fresh energy into the party campaign, but the question is whetherModi's magic can work its charm in Goa at this stage.
If BJP is basking in the development story of Goa andshowcasing the infrastructure, bridges, the signature Zuari bridge and Vikas,the Opposition parties like the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the TrinamoolCongress continued to punch holes in Goa’s growth story. In massive meetings inMayem, Poriem and Santa Cruz, AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief ministerslammed the State government over a Rs 24,000 crore debt and failure to createnew healthcare and educational facilities. Kejriwal promised governance atdoorsteps and dished out a slew of initiatives, including giving of land rightsand resumption of mining.
If development is positive, defection has been the biggestnegative of this electoral script and parties have been exploiting situations.While the campaign runs into the closing stages, parties have taken to socialmedia interactions, and personalized telephone chats to engage voters. Thereare no longer random songs played on campaign trails, rather candidates have switchedover to personalised jingles and clips. Every possible avenue of the campaignhas been explored and utilized to the hilt as Goa heads into an intense finale.
