MARGAO
With exactly a month and half to go for the May 7 election for the South Goa Lok Seat, candidates of the two key players, the BJP and the Congress ought to have hit the campaign by now, to cover as much ground as possible in a constituency having 20 Assembly segments spread across the seven talukas in South Goa district.
Instead, the two parties have been hit by suspense, perhaps the first time in recent elections, leaving party cadre and workers, besides the voters in a confused state.
What could be the probable reasons behind the suspense and the inordinate delay in unveiling candidates by the two political parties? What has come in the way of the two parties from zeroing in on the candidates for the coming polls? Is “winnability” playing on the mind? Or, is the delay a tactical plot by the parties, waiting for the rival to declare the candidate before they lay bare their action plan?
Well, these and other questions have become the talking points in political circles as both the Congress and the BJP keep their cards close to their chests, for reasons best known to the leadership of the two parties.
BJP camp
The BJP should have gone to the battle field without any issue over the candidate selection, what with half of the members of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s Cabinet hailing from South Goa, and not to mention Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar and heavyweights including Cong-turned-BJP MLA Digambar Kamat all hailing from the district. That’s not all. The finalization of the party candidate ought to have been a smooth affair when Digambar Kamat and Ramesh Tawadkar politely conveyed to the party leadership they are not keen in contesting the coming election, leaving the race for the BJP ticket almost narrowing down to ex-MP Narendra Sawaikar and ex-Dy CM Chandrakant Kavlekar.
In fact, names of Sawaikar, a cadre to the core and Kavlekar, a relatively new entrant to the saffron party, were sent to the party central leadership for consideration, before the local party leadership received a communiqué to scout for a prospective women candidate to fit the bill.
Political observers were quick to rush with a host of questions behind the “women” factor taking centre stage in the BJP candidate selection. One, whether the party central leadership did not receive a positive feedback on the two candidates shortlisted by the local party leadership and whether the party will gain in the overall scheme of things by fielding a woman even assuming the party fails to wrest the seat from the Congress.
The late introduction of industrialist Pallavi Dempo only added to the suspense. This has only thrown up a question or two whether the party will risk importing a candidate from North Goa, though Pallavi is rooted in Margao and Salcete, and how would the cadre as well as the new entrants into the party react to the unfolding developments in a constituency where the Lotus has bloomed only twice in recent political history.
It’s a sheer coincidence that the BJP is in a state of suspense over the candidature for South Goa when Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has not stopped saying from day one that the people would vote for the “Lotus” symbol and not for the candidate.
Congress camp
The Congress High Command, sources said, is waiting for the BJP to unveil their party candidate before it declares its own candidate as part of a strategy, after having shortlisted the names of sitting MP Francisco Sardinha, ex-Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Girish Chodankar and social activist Capt Viriato Fernandes.
Amongst the trio, four-time sitting MP Sardinha is seeking re-nomination for South Goa on the premise he has never lost a Lok Sabha election from South Goa and the goodwill built over the years will keep him and the party in good stead.
A section of the party leadership, however, is not in favour of Sardinha’s candidature as they scout for a young and new face to take the party forwared. Sardinha’s candidature is believed to have not found favour with most of the alliance partners supporting the INDIA opposition block.
On the other hand, ex-GPCC Chief is literally banking on the changing circumstances and demography in South Goa, where the minorities, mostly the Catholics are no more in a majority. A section of the party, however, is wary of his candidature, over the possible fall out in minority areas in the event a candidate from the minority community is not nominated for South Goa.
An ex-serviceman, Captain Viriato Fernandes is another option at the disposal of the Congress leadership. A section of the party is rooting for Capt Viriato, known for his social activism and his involvement in many an agitation, including the historic anti-coal stir. With time running out, a section of Party leaders, however, say it needs to be seen how Viriato will cover the ground in the hinterland talukas of Sanguem, Ponda, Quepem and Dharbandora with exactly a month and half to go for the polling on May 7.
