MAPUSA
After almost a decade the BJP has to sweat it out to hold on to its bastion in Bardez even as Congress is making a concerted effort to create history in the taluka.
In fact, the BJP is facing a tough challenge from the grand old party which is pulling out all stops to halt the saffron party’s juggernaut in its stronghold. With Manohar Parrikar at the helm, BJP had swept the 2012 assembly elections cornering six out of the seven constituencies at stake in Bardez.
BJP created history in that election with Francis D’Souza, Kiran Kandolkar, Glenn Ticlo, Dilip Parulekar, Michael Lobo and Dayanand Mandrekar winning from Mapusa, Tivim, Aldona, Saligao, Calangute and Siolim while the newly carved Porvorim constituency was cornered by Independent Rohan Khaunte.
Interestingly, in 2017, again under Parrikar’s leadership, BJP got a truncated mandate, winning in only three seats with the Independent retaining Porvorim and Congress bagging the Tivim while Saligao and Siolim going to the Goa Forward Party. In the 2012 assembly polls three candidates each from the minority and the Bhandari community bagged the hounours for the BJP. While the three minority candidates retained their seats in 2017, the three candidates from Bhandari community lost.
Taking into consideration the caste and religious equations, the BJP has foisted a Bhandari candidate in the form of Jayesh Salgaonkar in Saligao for this election, while going with the tried and tested Bhandari candidate Dayanand Mandrekar in Siolim and Nilkant Halarnkar in Tivim. Similarly, the party used all its might to convince former Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira to join the BJP and fielded him from Calangute against Congress’ Michael Lobo.
Despite heavy incumbency, the party retained Glenn Ticlo in Aldona and the youthful Joshua D’Souza in Mapusa. Acknowledging that in electoral politics, numbers matter the BJP managed to woo Rohan Khuante into the party.
On the other hand, Congress is banking on former BJP man, Michael Lobo to make an impact in Bardez and the gamble appears to be paying off. While Lobo is contesting in Calangute on Congress banner, his wife Delilah Lobo is attempting to create history in Siolim on the same party. A Congress candidate has never won in Siolim since 1963, the first assembly election held in liberated Goa.
Similarly, Lobo’s acolytes “ Sudhir Kandolkar and Kedar Naik “ are contesting on the hand symbol in Mapusa and Saligao respectively. Both the candidates are leaving no stone unturned to pull it off against their fancied opponents. Congress has fielded Carlos Ferreira an erudite and loyal soldier in Aldona and a business-man Aman Lotlikar in Tivim.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) have also fielded candidates in all the seven constituencies in the taluka. AAP is looking to do better in Mapusa, Calangute and Siolim while for the newly entrant TMC the bright spots are Tivim, Porvorim and Aldona.
Two new local parties “ Revolutionary Goans Party are contesting five seats except Aldona and Porvorim while Goencho Swabhiman Party is contesting in Calangute and Tivim.
“Winds of change are blowing in Bardez as there is strong anti-incumbency against the ruling party,” said Adv Satish Rao, a resident of Mapusa and a keen political observer.
“And to add insult to injury, some BJP leaders are making statements detrimental to the original creator of the BJP in the State, which has not gone down well with a certain segment of the party,” he added.
