BJP sharpens focus on Navelim as it eyes 2027 gains in Salcete

MARGAO
With the 2027 Assembly elections around three months away, the ruling BJP appears to have sharpened its focus on Salcete, particularly Navelim, the lone constituency in the minority-dominated taluka that the party won in the 2022 Assembly elections.
Alongside Navelim, the BJP is seemingly banking on former Chief Minister, seven-time MLA and incumbent PWD Minister Digambar Kamat to wrest Margao back from the Congress and bring the constituency into the party’s fold. The apparent strategy is to enter the 2027 Assembly elections with hopes of securing at least two seats in Salcete – Navelim and Margao.
The BJP’s renewed focus on Navelim was evident on Wednesday, when a sizeable contingent of party leaders, led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, visited the constituency as part of the government’s ‘Sarkar Tumchya Dari’ programme.
The visit follows Health Minister Vishwajit Rane’s tour of Navelim nearly a fortnight ago, during which he interacted with women and sought feedback on various government schemes relating to health and women and child development, including the Griha Aadhar scheme.
Rane not only assured women of an increase in the Griha Aadhar assistance but also announced that the annual income ceiling would be raised to Rs 8 lakh, potentially bringing more beneficiaries under the scheme.
Significantly, Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuenkar had approached the Health Minister, seeking consideration for Muslim women who do not possess birth certificates and are consequently unable to access benefits under the scheme. Rane had assured him that the matter would be looked into.
Political sources say Tuenkar’s intervention on behalf of Muslim women seeking benefits under various Women and Child Development schemes assumes significance in the context of Navelim’s electoral arithmetic, with the Muslim community constituting a sizeable section of the constituency’s electorate. His repeated assurances to boost health infrastructure at the Navelim Primary Health Centre are another indication that the ruling dispensation is making all-out efforts to woo the Navelim electorate ahead of the coming polls.
Political observers believe the BJP’s outreach through welfare schemes and direct engagement with women could be part of a broader attempt to make inroads into the Muslim vote bank while retaining its traditional support base.
Wednesday’s visit by Sawant, accompanied by the Navelim MLA and a team of government officials, has further underlined the importance the ruling dispensation appears to be attaching to the constituency.
Although the Chief Minister maintained that he and his Cabinet colleagues would visit all constituencies under the ‘Sarkar Tumchya Dari’ programme, sources point out that Sawant’s personal presence in Navelim, accompanied by a sizeable contingent of officials, is being viewed as a politically significant move aimed at making an impact on the ground ahead of the 2027 electoral battle.