the goan I network
PANAJI
The stage is set for Goa’s 11.35 lakh voters to exercise their franchise and elect its two representatives in Parliament from 7 am to 6 pm on Tuesday in the third phase of the ongoing 7-phase 2019 general parliamentary election.
Goa’s electorate from three vacant assembly segments of Mandrem, Mapusa and Shiroda, will also simultaneously vote to elect their representative in the Goa legislative assembly which could have a bearing on the survival of the Pramod Sawant-led coalition government in the State.
The 11.35 lakh voters will seal the fate of 12 candidates, six each in North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats after the election campaign dominated by the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress.
Apart from the BJP and the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also fielded its candidates in both the Lok Sabha seats.
The MGP is contesting from the lone Shiroda assembly seat with its President Deepak Dhavalikar as its candidate. It has thrown its weight behind the Congress candidates in the two Lok Sabha seats and for the Mapusa assembly bypoll. In Mandrem it is backing the Independent Jeet Arolkar who has emerged a strong contender.
In North Goa, the contest will be mainly between Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik and State Congress president Girish Chodankar. In South Goa, outgoing MP Narendra Sawaikar is defending his seat against the challenge of Congress veteran Francisco Sardinha, who has represented the seat twice before and has also been a former Chief Minister in his over four-decade-long political career. Another major factor is the absence of the late
Manohar Parrikar, whose electoral management skills will be solely missed by the BJP.
The performance of the two AAP candidates -- Pradeep Padgaonkar in North and Elvis Gomes in South -- could add a proverbial twist to equation in both the seats. The fledgling party has campaigned hard, particularly in South Goa and share of the votes it corners could leave an impact on the winning chances of both, BJP and Congress.
Meanwhile, more than the two Lok Sabha seats, much of the attention of pundits and political enthusiasts will be focused on the by-elections to the three Assembly seats of Mandrem, Mapusa and Shiroda. Bypolls to a fourth seat, Panaji, which fell vacant following the death of Parrikar on March 17 last, will also be held on May 19 and the results in these four has the potential of altering the balance of power in the 40-member Goa legislature.
In Mandrem, a three-cornered fight is being witnessed primarily between the BJP candidate Dayanand Sopte and the MGP-backed Independent Jeet Arolkar, with the Congress candidate Babi Bagkar also a potential contender.
In Mapusa, political observers are of the opinion that the fight could go down to the last vote between the BJP’s Joshua D’Souza and his father, the late Francis D’Souza’s former lieutenant Sudhir Kandolkar of the Congress. The seat fell vacant following the early March death of D’Souza who continually represented the constituency with a vice-like grip since 1999.
In Shiroda, the battle is between Subhash Shirodkar, who quit to switch allegiance from Congress to BJP necessitating the bye-poll, and the MGP’s Dhavalikar. Former minister Mahadev Naik who has been fielded by the Congress has been pushed to a distant third and talk is some eleventh hour arrangement could be worked out to shift voting to Dhavlikar, although there is no direct evidence of it as yet.
What has raised the level of interest in the Assembly by-elections being held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls is the potential of the result altering the power equation in the 40-member Goa legislature and decide the future of the Sawant-led coalition government.
Currently, the strength of the ruling coalition is at 20 (BJP - 14, GFP - 3 and three independents) in the truncated 36-member House. The Opposition has 16: Congress - 14, one each of NCP and MGP. A strong showing by the Congress could trigger a re-think by the GFP and the Independents on their political positioning.
Meanwhile, the election machinery, including 8000-odd polling staff and another 6000-odd police and para-military force are geared up to ensure an incident-free polling on Tuesday.
Chief Electoral Officer Kunal, IAS, has claimed that Goa is expected to beat all previous turnout records and breach the 80 per cent mark. Counting is slated to held on May 23 across the country.
EC sets Panaji bypoll process in motion
PANAJI : The process for the Panaji bypoll kick-started on Monday with the Election Commission of India (ECI) issuing the notification for the May 19 election.
According to the notification, April 29 (Monday) will be the last date for filing nominations and scrutiny will held on April 30.
The date for withdrawal of candidates is May 2 (Thursday). Voting will take place on May 19 from 7 am to 6 pm, as announced by the ECI earlier and counting on May 23.
This is the third time in two years and fifth time in seven years since 2012 that the electorate of Panaji will be electing an MLA.
The seat had fallen vacant last month after the passing away of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
After the bypoll in 2015 when Parrikar vacated the seat to go to the Centre, Kuncolienkar won it again in the 2017 assembly elections defeating Atanasio Monserrate by 1000-plus votes. AAP’s Valmiki Naik had polled approximately 2000 votes.
This time around, Monserrate is expected to be fielded by the Congress and AAP has announced it will field Valmiki again.
It is the BJP which is yet to show clarity on who it will field although the choice is between Kuncolienkar and Parrikar’s older son, Utpal, with the balance tilted in favour of the latter.
Goa Suraksha Manch, mentored by former Goa RSS chief, Subhash Velingkar is also expected to field a candidate.
