MARGAO
Even former India captain Virat Kohli would have to employ all his cricketing skills to deliver a victory with a strike rate of 70 per cent”especially in a match against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Welcome to South Goa, where an electoral battle is brewing for the South Goa Zilla Panchayat seat. It may sound strange, but it’s true: the ruling BJP has effectively set itself a strike rate of 72.2 per cent in its bid to retain the South Goa ZP seat for another five years.
For, the party has officially decided to contest 18 of the 25 seats up for grabs for the South Goa Zilla Panchayat body, including two allocated to alliance partner MGP. This means the BJP“MGP combine must win at least 13 seats out of the total 18 the combine will be contesting to secure another term.
This peculiar situation arises because the BJP has chosen not to contest the remaining seven seats”including the six seats spread in minority-dominated Salcete.
Of the nine seats at stake in Salcete, the BJP has decided to field candidates only in three: Navelim, Guirdolim, and Davorlim” the last two constituencies where the Lotus had bloomed in the 2020 ZP polls.
Team BJP Captain Damu Naik, however, insists that the daunting 72.2 per cent target is achievable, saying the party has in its ranks “capable batsmen”. “When the BJP is ruling at the Centre and in Goa, I do not see any problem in achieving the magic figure of 13 out of the 18 seats contested by the BJP and MGP,” he asserted confidently, signalling that the party is geared up for the ZP polls with full determination to retain both District Zilla Panchayat seats.
Unlike party rivals, the BJP State president further said that the party had activated the party machinery for the Zilla Panchayat polls long ago. “When our rivals are still talking about poll alliances and the Opposition is yet to unveil candidates, this only goes to show the BJP is battle ready for the December 20 election,” Damu asserted.
BJP’s game plan: Backing Inds in seven seats
The ruling BJP’s strategy appears straightforward”contest seats where the party has a strong base and support Independent candidates in constituencies where victory on its own seems unlikely. This tried-and-tested strategy was also deployed in the previous ZP elections, with the expectation that Independents would dent the Opposition tally by pocketing a couple of seats.
The game plan is clear: win as many seats as possible from BJP strongholds and rely on Independents to work their magic in areas where the party has little or no presence.
BJP State President Damu Naik openly acknowledged that the party will not hesitate to support Independent candidates in the seven seats of Salcete and Cortalim. However, he added that the party has yet to finalise which Independents will receive its backing. “We have not yet decided the Independents the party will support in the coming polls,” he said.
Sources have indicated that the BJP is unlikely to publicly reveal the names of the Independents it backs, aware that doing so could brand these candidates as “BJP agents” in the eyes of voters.
It is also noteworthy that Independent MLAs Reginaldo Lourenco (Curtorim) and Anton Vaz (Cortalim) are alliance partners of the ruling BJP. Three ZP seats”Curtorim and Raia in the Curtorim constituency, and Cortalim in the Cortalim Assembly segment”fall within their jurisdictions, with sources saying the BJP will certainly get these Independent MLAs to win these seats for the ruling combine.
Hopes to repeat its performance in Guirdolim and Davorlim
The Lotus had bloomed in both Guirdolim and Davorlim during the 2020 ZP elections, delivering crucial victories that helped the BJP cross the magic figure of 13 to retain control of the South Goa Zilla Panchayat. In Guirdolim (Cuncolim Assembly segment) and Davorlim (Navelim Assembly segment), the BJP benefitted significantly from a split in the Opposition vote.
With Opposition parties still struggling to forge an alliance, and the Aam Aadmi Party contesting solo, the BJP is undoubtedly hoping for a similar split this time”helping it retain its vote share in both Davorlim and Guirdolim.
In addition to Guirdolim, where the ruling party is expected to go all out to defend the seat, the BJP will also rely heavily on first-time Navelim MLA Ulhas Tuenkar to retain the Davorlim seat and push hard for a win in the Navelim ZP seat as well.
Party fields new faces in three Salcete seats
Whether by design or circumstance, the BJP has fielded fresh faces for the three ZP seats of Guirdolim, Davorlim, and Navelim in Salcete. Former South Goa Chairperson and sitting Guirdolim ZP member Sanjana Velip has resigned from the BJP and joined the Congress.
For the Guirdolim seat, which is reserved for ST, the BJP has nominated a new face, Gokuldas Mahadev Gaonkar.
In Davorlim, party veteran Satyavijay Naik has been chosen in an attempt to retain the seat, meaning sitting ZP member Paresh Naik has been denied a re-nomination despite his willingness to contest again on the BJP ticket.
Sources in the BJP informed that the party had received applications from three candidates for the Davorlim seat “ sitting member Paresh Naik, Satyavijay Naik and Damu Naik. The party has finally zeroed in on Satyavijay, who had contested the Navelim ZP seat in the last election. As for the Navelim ZP seat”reserved for Women (OBC)”the party has fielded Laxmi Baburao Shetkar.
