MARGAO
Aam Aadmi Party’s surge in the Navelim Zilla Panchayat constituency might have upset the Congress’ applecart in the by-poll.
More than the defeat in the by-poll, however, AAP’s steady rise should come as a matter of concern in the Congress camp, not just in Navelim, but in the neighbouring Velim Assembly constituency as well.
The reason is not far too to seek. Navelim ZP by-poll statistics show that AAP has emerged as a big challenger and strong competitor for the Congress in the minority heartland of Navelim and Velim.
A glance at the poll result sheet shows that AAP led over the Congress candidate in eight of the 16 polling booths, all coming under Navelim constituency in the by-poll. And, in the two villages of Dramapur-Sirlim and Sarzora, both part of the Velim Assembly seat, AAP led over the Congress in Dramapur-Sirlim by close to 100 votes and trailed behind Congress by just 36 votes in Sarzora village.
Take note, AAP had polled more than 3,000-votes in the 2017 Assembly election and the by-poll results show the party somehow managing to retain its base in the two villages of Dramapur-Sirlim and Sarzora, indicting the party’s slow and steady rise in Velim as well.
AAP’s surge in the villages of Navelim, Telaulim in Navelim Assembly constituency and Dramapur-Sirlim and Sarzora is attributed to the hard work put in by party volunteers at the grassroots. “What we had noticed in the by-poll was that the dedicated army of AAP volunteers on the ground, connected well with the people. On the other hand, Congress bigwigs addressed meetings of the party candidate, but could not connect themselves with the last voter on the ground,” remarked an observer.
That Navelim MLA and Congress veteran Luizinho Faleiro was quick to point out the AAP factor as the main cause behind the party’s defeat is a clear admission of the reality staring at the Congress leadership. The moot question, however, remains unanswered – how will the Congress handle the AAP factor, more so with the party making inroads in party’s once considered strongholds, especially in the minority dominated areas.
AAP leader, Capt Wenzy Viegas, who was the campaign manager of the AAP Navelim candidate, Matilda D’Silva, expressed satisfaction over AAP’s performance in the Navelim by-poll. Though AAP finished a close third, Team AAP knows for sure that the election result has given the party a ray of hope to improve and consolidated its gain before the Assembly polls.
“We will put in more efforts to explain what AAP model of governance is all about. We will go aggressively to the people during the Assembly election,” Capt Wenzy said.
