MARGAO
How did Congress candidate Reginaldo Lourenco lose the South Goa seat to BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar by a comprehensive 32,330 votes margin when Salcete had rallied behind him by giving the party an unassailable 31,527 votes lead over the BJP?
The reason is not far too seek. While the Congress candidate led over the BJP by 31,527 votes in the eight Assembly segments of Salcete, the party failed miserably in the eight Assembly segments across the hinterlands in Madkaim, Ponda, Shiroda, Sanvordem, Sanguem, Curchorem, Quepem and Canacona.
A glance at the 2014 poll statistics revealed that the BJP surged ahead of the Congress in the hinterlands, with Narendra Sawaikar securing a vital 40,000-odd lead over his close rival which helped to neutralize the gains made by the Congress in Salcete.
That explains the anxiety in the Congress camp to recover lost ground at least in some of the constituencies such as Canacona, Quepem, Curchorem, Sanguem, Ponda and Shiroda. While senior Congress leaders in private admit that taking a lead over the BJP in the segments of Sanvordem, Sanguem, Curchorem, Madkaim, Ponda and Shiroda may be out of question at this stage, they, however, hope to reduce the margin of votes of the BJP, assuming that the party will perform well in the eight Assembly segments of Salcete.
“Our mission now is to stop the BJP from having a free run in the hinterland Assembly segments such as Sanvordem, Sanguem, Madkai, Shiroda and Curchorem. Containing the BJP in these segments will help the Congress to capitalize on the votes polled in Salcete,” remarked a senior Congress leader.
The anxiety expressed by the Congress leader is not entirely misplaced. Otherwise just consider this. A glance at the 2014 poll statistics revealed that the BJP had a virtual free run in Madkaim with the BJP taking a massive lead of over 11,143 votes over the Congress. Sanguem and Sanvordem followed suit by giving the BJP unassailable leads in favour of the BJP.
The Congress, which has a presence in segments such as Quepem, Canacona, Curchorem, Ponda and Shiroda could not contain the BJP. Take for instance Canacona segment. The BJP took a huge lead of close to 5,906 votes in Canacona. Sanguem, where the Congress had a sizeable presence in the past, could not contain the BJP at the height of the Modi wave when Sawaikar took a massive lead of 7,718 votes over the Congress.
Even the Quepem segment, which is being represented by four-time Congress MLA and now Leader of the Opposition Babu Kavlekar could not stop BJP’s free run as Sawaikar led over Reginaldo by a margin of 1,721 votes.
A senior Congress leader said the party is better placed this time round compared to 2014 as the Assembly segments of Canacona, Quepem and Ponda are now represented by party MLAs Isidore Fernandes, Babu Kavlekar and Ravi Naik respectively. “The Congress can hope to regain the South Goa seat if the party workers put in additional work to narrow the margin of leads of the BJP in the eight Assembly segments in the hinterland,” remarked another Congress leader.
Leader of the Opposition Babu Kavlekar said the Congress is facing a huge challenge not to retain its stranglehold over Salcete, but to stop the BJP’s free run in the hinterland where as many as eight Assembly segments are at stake. “Yes, the Congress is in a better position to engage with the BJP in the hinterlands, but the party faces the challenge to narrow down the margin of leads of the BJP if not to give outright lead for the Congress,” Kavlekar added.
