Election data indicates vote split proved decisive in key constituencies
PANAJI
The Zilla Panchayat (ZP) election results have laid bare a familiar and costly failure of Goa’s Opposition – the inability to put aside political egos and forge a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The absence of a grand alliance between the Congress, Goa Forward Party (GFP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) did not just weaken the Opposition; it effectively handed the BJP a smooth passage in several constituencies.
Post-poll analysis indicates that the division of anti-BJP votes gave the saffron party a decisive edge in at least six constituencies where a united Opposition could have altered the outcome.
Despite clear signals on the ground about the need for unity, Opposition parties failed to stitch together a comprehensive seat-sharing arrangement. The resulting three or four-cornered contests allowed the BJP to scrape through with relatively modest vote shares in multiple constituencies, while the combined tally of Opposition candidates comfortably outnumbered the winning margins.
According to estimates, a grand alliance could have helped the Opposition win an additional seven seats — Barcem, Calangute, Siolim, Chimbel, Corlim and Poinguinim — over and above the seats actually secured. In the final count, Congress won ten seats, RGP two, while AAP and Goa Forward Party (GFP) managed one seat each.
A coordinated strategy, the Opposition leader Yuri Alemao admitted, could have significantly dented the BJP’s dominance in the ZP polls.
One of the starkest examples of Opposition vote split was seen in Corlim, where even a ‘friendly contest’ between alliance partners Congress and GFP backfired badly. Despite being in alliance, both parties fielded candidates, dividing their support base. The result was a clear win for the BJP, with sitting ZP member Sidhesh Shripad Naik polling 5,594 votes, while the combined Congress ( 4,537) and GFP (4,738) vote stood at a massive 9,275. The numbers underscored how internal miscalculations within the Opposition helped the BJP retain the seat with ease.
Calangute presented a similar story. Here, Congress candidate polled 5,003 votes, while RGP secured 3,719 votes. Together, the Opposition votes totalled 8,722 — far exceeding the 5,646 votes polled by the BJP candidate – Franzilia Rodrigues – the defeat that would have shaken Michael Lobo’s bastion.
In Chimbel too, BJP’s Gauri Kamat secured 5,732 votes to emerge as winner, wherein the Opposition – AAP (2,843), INC (2,490) and RGP (1,830) – together polled 7,163 votes – enough to have a comfortable victory. Siolim and Barcem were not an exception to this.
Political observers note that in each of these seats, the BJP emerged victorious not because of overwhelming support, but due to fractured Opposition votes.
The ZP results have once again brought the question of Opposition unity into sharp focus in Goa’s political landscape ahead of 2027 elections. The experts warn that while Congress remains the single largest Opposition force, the rise of regional players like RGP and the presence of AAP might complicate electoral arithmetic in the assembly election.
With the BJP consolidating its position at the grassroots through the ZP polls, Opposition parties are now under pressure to introspect.
