SANGUEM
If the BJP had plans to secure maximum leads in the hinterland areas of South Goa, those targets fell well short in Sanguem, Sanvordem and Curchorem constituencies.
For Congress, reducing the margins in these areas is what mattered and its candidate Captain Viriato Fernandes exceeded expectations in this goal.
SANGUEM
Having set a goal of securing a lead of over 10,000 in the Sanguem constituency, the BJP fared below expectations and BJP candidate Pallavi Dempo secured only half of that target (about 5,357 votes), having polled about 12,880 votes in the Sanguem constituency.
On the other hand, the performance of Congress candidate Captain Viriato was commendable despite not being known much in the constituency as he secured 7,527 votes, which is a considerably better performance for a Congress candidate in the Sanguem constituency in recent times.
BJP’s strong performance in the Sanguem constituency had given Minister for Social Welfare and Sanguem MLA Subhash Phal Dessai the confidence to reportedly claim a margin of 10,000 votes, but he had to finally contend little over half of the expected mark.
Even after receiving minimal support from the limited primary workers in the constituency, Captain Viriato Fernandes secured maximum votes in the Sanguem town area, having polled 1,874 votes as against 1,475 votes polled by Pallavi Dempo.
Fernandes also gained sizeable votes in Uguem and Rivona, which are basically Congress bastions in the constituency. As was expected, Dempo garnered maximum votes in the hinterland areas of the Sanguem constituency, which included Pirla, Neturlim, Korla, Wadem and Bhati village Panchayats.
Such was their jubilation that Congress leaders from Sanguem celebrated Captain Viriato’s victory by bursting firecrackers in the town.
SANVORDEM
In the Sanvordem constituency which is ruled by the BJP, voters showed their clear preference for Pallavi Dempo where she secured 15,618 votes as against 6,277 votes polled by Capt Viriato, which is similar to the votes polled by the two parties in the 2019 elections.
However, even in the Sanvordem constituency, Capt Viriato performed better in the Sanvordem constituency as against the Congress candidate Khemalo Sawant in the last assembly polls who had secured a meagre 376 votes.
Had it not been for the Sanvordem constituency where BJP secured a lead of almost 9,341 votes, the situation for Dempo could have been even worse in this region.
It is, however, no surprise that the BJP got overwhelming support in the Sanvordem Constituency as it is basically either a BJP or MGP bastion. Except for four booths, Pallavi reigned supreme in all remaining booths leaving no room for Captain Viriato to improve in the constituency.
CURCHOREM
The neighbouring Curchorem constituency, which is represented by BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral, failed to give the desired lead to the BJP candidate.
It is basically due to the slender lead in the Sanguem and Curchorem constituencies that Dempo failed to secure sizeable leads, where leaders in both constituencies had hoped for a sizeable lead of over 10,000 votes each.
While Subhash Phal Dessai in Sanguem managed to reach half the expected lead, Cabral also missed the target and got a lead of only 1,697 votes, which, however, was better than the 2022 assembly elections where he had won by a few hundred votes.
