GULHERME ALMEIDA
MARGAO
Key political players vying for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat may have to go back to their drawing boards to rework their campaign strategy ahead of the polling on April 23.
For, the election process unveiled by the Election Commission indicates that the crucial electioneering period virtually clashes with the Holy Week culminating on Easter Sunday (April 21). While curtains on electioneering will come down on Sunday at 5 pm, political parties will have no option than to redraw their campaign strategies, more so for the last three days of campaign as the dates clash with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, where Catholics throng the Churches for religious services. In fact, politicians and the political parties may suddenly realize that they will lose two crucial days of campaign on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and may have to devise new strategies as far as holding mega meetings on these two days with people preoccupied in the Churches for the religious services. Normally, mega public meetings are a norm in and around minority dominated Salcete by all the political parties every election. But, with the last three crucial days of campaigning falling during the Holy week, no political party can ill afford to ignore the ground reality as well as the public sentiments.
Chief campaign manager of the Congress party, MLA Digambar Kamat said the Election Commission should have taken cognizance of the ensuing Easter festival and the Holy Week preceding the festival. “It is a fact that the election campaign will clash with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday preceding the Easter. The EC should have either held the Goa elections in the second or the fourth phase”, Kamat said. He, however, hastened to add that since the EC has already finalized the election date for Goa, the Congress leaders will sit, discuss and devise new strategies how to go about the campaign.
One suggestion doing the rounds in Congress circles is that party leaders, belonging to the majority community, may have to descend in
the hinterland areas of South Goa Lok Sabha constituency, when Salcete will be busy with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Aam Admi Party state convenor and South Goa Lok Sabha candidate Elvis Gomes admitted that the last few crucial days of campaigning will clash with the two days of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. In a lighter vein, Elvis said that with hardly any options available, AAP will kick start its campaign early and end early to beat the situation.
BJP leader and South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar said the BJP respects the sentiments of the people of Goa. He, however, said that since the EC has already fixed the election date for Goa on April 23, the BJP leadership will have no option than to reschedule the poll campaign. “We respect the sentiments of the people who would be participating in the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. Accordingly, the BJP will reschedule its campaign”, Sawaikar added.
UGDP Leader Adv Radharao Gracias, in a tweet, however said the EC claims it has fixed the election dates taking into consideration the festivals and religious days of various communities. “The election date for Goa is on April 23 which means campaigning will end at 5 pm on Easter Sunday, April 21. It also follows that the final campaign meetings will be on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Is there any doubt that the EC has taken into account the religious days of the Christian community while fixing the Election schedule for Goa? Do you still believe that the EC is Independent”, he questioned.
