Of the 7 panchayats, four swear allegiance to Gaonkar, while 3 side with Pawaskar
Photo Credits: Poll Pulse Sanvordem_1
With the election drawing closer by the minute, the large yet scattered electorate of around 27,000 in Sanvordem constituency is presently swaying very delicately between sitting MLA and BJP candidate Ganesh Gaonkar and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party’s Deepak Pawaskar.
Of the seven panchayats in the constituency, two are located in Sanguem taluka and five in Dharbandora. While four of these seven swear allegiance to Gaonkar, who aspires to secure a ministerial berth this year, three have sided with former Dabhal sarpanch Pawaskar.
Winds blowing across the length and breadth of the remote locales in Sanvordem constituency suggest that there will be a fierce duel for the seat with the BJP having an upper hand going into the fray.
Kalay is a small village with a school, a bus stop, a panchayat office and a row of tiny shops all bunched together. A panch from Kalay openly voiced his support for ‘Bhau’ Gaonkar.
“The margin for BJP in Sanvordem in 2012 was around 2,000 votes. We will enhance the margin even further this time because we want to secure a ministry for Gaonkar,” he said.
Another voter, who is the president of a local temple committee, insisted that Gaonkar has succeeded in securing clearance for several infrastructural projects in the thickly forested constituency where a large chunk of the area carries the tag of reserved forest. Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary falls in Sanvordem constituency.
“We didn’t have a respectable crematorium nor a cemetery in Sanvordem because the entire tracts of land were reserved for wildlife. After all these years, it was Gaonkar who finally helped us,” he said.
Another resident of Dharbandora highlighted that Gaonkar is among the few MLAs who have taken steps to generate employment in the erstwhile mining belt. “Under the BJP government, Gaonkar held the post of chairman of the Goa Industrial Development Corporation and he has ensured that his constituency gets two industrial estates in Dharbandora and Mollem,” he stated adding that the sitting MLA has given jobs to over 1,000 people during his tenure, of which around 800 are government jobs.
A handful of other locals confirmed that employment has dwindled since the ban on mining and that the issue will be on the mind of most electors who will step out to vote on February 4.
The ban on mining activities has hit Sanvordem’s truck owners and allied labour. While a recently formed mining front has expressed support to MGP’s Pawaskar, several other people seemed to have moved on with their lives after the ban, relying on employment out of the constituency and some have even returned to agriculture.
“Mining ban has helped my farms. The water is clearing out now. Besides, truck owners have received One Time Settlement and other financial packages. Things are back to normal for most,” a farmer from the village of Vagon assured.
An elderly gentleman from Vagon piped in with his political insight and offered that the MGP will have a tough time to revive its votebank. “It has been decades since the MGP ruled in Sanvordem. Its traditional voters have grayed and wizened. MGP’s visibility is being questioned by the younger voters today,” said the home-grown psephologist.
Pawaskar appears to be strong in pockets of Kirlapal-Dabhal, Vagon and Mollem, Sancordem. A shopkeeper at Sanvordem-Tisk remarked that he would like the MLA to be based out of the constituency instead of Ponda.
He informed that the ST leaders of Sanvordem-Tisk such as Santosh Gaonkar and Bhola Gaonkar are siding with Pawaskar for this very reason.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Balkrishna Marathe and Congress candidate Shankar Kirlapalkar have yet to figure even in the political debates across the villages in Sanvordem.
The constituency has ST population of around 7,000 and Dhangar population of approximately 2,000.
While the Muslim minority community has yet to make up its mind, Dhangars have recently shifted loyalties from MGP to BJP. A sarpanch belonging to the Dhangar community informed that Gaonkar has made finances available for house repairs. “Why should we defeat a sitting MLA, who helps us and might become a minister the next time?” she questioned.
Incidentally, the remote constituency appears to be lagging far behind the 21st century with basic amenities such as water supply, electricity and reliable public transport still being in the pipeline.
