PANAJI
Known for its no-nonsense approach to fighting electoral battles, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tasked Union Minister Narayan Rane with managing the preparations for winning back the South Goa seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"We lost the South Goa seat by about 10,000 votes margin. So it's not a big target that we have to achieve," said Rane who addressed a press conference in the capital city flanked by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, BJP State president Sadanand Tanavade, Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar, BJP State general secretary Damu Naik, former South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar and others.
Pointing out that nine MLAs belong to BJP and three others are alliance partners, Rane said, with 12 of the 20 MLAs in the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency it is certain that the seat will be won.
"But in war and politics, nothing can be taken easy," Rane said, adding that he will be visiting often to ensure that the South Goa seat is won for the BJP.
Rane was in Goa on Friday and Saturday and held meetings to gear up the party apparatus in South Goa with Sawant, Tanavade, Tendulkar, Sawaikar and constituency level office bearers and workers of the party, he said.
Speaking further, Rane said each of the Ministers have been assigned two Lok Sabha constituencies from among the 140 the party had lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. The party leadership expects to win at least 100 of these in 2024, he added.
Apart from South Goa, Rane has also been assigned South Bombay Lok Sabha seat, he said, adding that the party leadership has set a target of winning 400-plus seats in 2024 to break the record set by Rajiv Gandhi in 1984.
A former chief minister and a political strongman of the Konkan region of neighbouring Maharashtra, Rane is not a stranger to Goa where over the last more than two decades he and his family have invested in hotel and real estate businesses.
He said, he will keep visiting the State to shoulder the responsibility given by the party and his focus will be to encourage workers and the party apparatus in South Goa to synchronise their work with the State government led by Sawant and ensure the seat is won.
