BJP sounds poll bugle for 2027

BJP workers at the party convention at Taleigao Community Hall on Saturday.

PANAJI
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday sounded the bugle for the 2027 Goa Assembly elections, with National President Nitin Nabin calling on party workers to ensure at least 50 per cent of the votes at every polling booth and strengthen the organisation from the grassroots up.

Addressing a large workers’ convention at Taleigao Community Hall, Nabin said the 2027 elections would be decisive for achieving the vision of a “Viksit Goa” and asserted that only a stable government could sustain the State’s development momentum.

“We need to further work on booth-level strength and sustained public outreach to achieve the 2027 goal,” he said.

Describing booth-level leaders as the backbone of the party, he urged cadres to focus on continuous organisational work and deeper engagement with voters. “Sovereignty lies with the people. When the poor and villages grow stronger, the BJP becomes stronger, and that ultimately strengthens the nation and the State,” Nabin said, echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on inclusive growth.

Highlighting the BJP-led government’s record in Goa over the last 14 years, Nabin said the State’s per capita income had risen from Rs 1.12 lakh per person in 2014 to nearly Rs 3.50 lakh in the present date. 

“The infrastructure expansion, including two airports, expressways, national highways, and flyovers, has transformed Goa’s image... Welfare initiatives like the Mhaji Ghar Yojana reflect the government’s development-oriented approach... The last 14 years have seen immense overall development,” he further said while adding that sustained effort was required to achieve the goal of a developed Goa by 2047.

With this being his maiden visit to Goa since taking charge, Nabin recalled the tenure of the former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and said that under him, and later under Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the party remained in power for 14 years.

“Our government has always focused on overall development, welfare of all sections of society, youth empowerment and women’s dignity, all of which were witnessed over these 14 years,” he reiterated.

CM Sawant, who also addressed the convention, asserted that the BJP would return to power in Goa in 2027. “Politics is not a 100-metre race; it is a marathon. It is not speed but stamina that is tested,” he said, assuring the national leadership that party workers would work collectively to ensure victory for the 2027 polls.

Sawant said ST and SC status in Goa had been granted during the tenure of Parrikar and maintained that the Opposition had no moral authority to question the BJP on the issue. He further credited PM Modi with prioritising the welfare of STs, SCs and weaker sections, and said the BJP’s 14 years in power in the State had focused on overall development.

As his two-day visit concluded on Saturday, Nabin also met NDA partners, including leaders of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and supporting independent MLAs. It was after this meeting that Independent MLA Chandrakant Shetye dropped a hint of a BJP switch stating “BJP invited me to meet National President Nitin Nabin and I also wished to meet him. At the end of my term, I will definitely be joining the BJP for the 2027 assembly polls.” 

Kamat shares stage as Nabin targets Congress misdeeds

PANAJI: Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat shared the dais with BJP National President Nitin Nabin at a party workers’ meeting on Saturday, even as the latter launched a scathing attack on Congress-era corruption in Goa – including alleged scams that surfaced during Kamat’s tenure as Chief Minister while in Congress.

Addressing the gathering at Taleigao Community Hall, Nabin equated the Congress with corruption and alleged that the party’s “misdeeds” had stalled Goa’s development for decades. Without naming individuals, except Alemao, he sought to contrast the BJP’s governance record with what he described as large-scale scams under previous Congress governments.

“Because of their (Congress’) misdeeds, Goa could not achieve proper development even after so many years of Independence. We must remember their dark history,” Nabin said in the presence of CM Pramod Sawant, party MPs, ministers, legislators and office bearers. “People must also remember that earlier, the Congress government was involved in a Rs 35,000-crore scam in mining alone,” he added.

Nabin said that detailing the alleged scams under Congress rule would take considerable time. “I can discuss their scams in detail; it will take a lot of time,” he said.

Kamat served as CM from 2007 to 2012 and also held the mining portfolio for nearly 12 years.

Continuing his attack, Nabin said the Congress had brought corruption, while the BJP had focused on service delivery and welfare schemes. “How can one forget (Churchill) Alemao’s arrest... the JICA funds misappropriation? People should understand why we speak of Congress corruption,” he said.

Kamat, along with then PWD Minister Churchill Alemao and other officials, was accused of allegedly accepting bribes from officials of US-based Louis Berger in connection with the JICA project. A chargesheet was later filed by the Crime Branch in the case.