Focus on BJP-Cong duel and AAP’s potential impact
File photo of Opposition leader Yuri Alemao with Congress MLA Altone D’Costa campaigning for the Congress in Guirdolim.
MARGAO
The Guirdolim Zilla Panchayat seat in Salcete grabbed attention on polling day after registering a turnout of 70 per cent — the highest in the taluka.
While political observers in Guirdolim and elsewhere are eagerly awaiting the results, the anxiety stems from a different question: who will gain the upper hand in Guirdolim — the BJP team led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant or the Congress led by Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao?
Both parties left nothing to chance in what turned into a high-stakes battle in the run-up to the ZP polls. On the eve of the vote count scheduled for Monday, observers are also closely watching the role the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may play in shaping the final outcome.
Notably, the BJP had tasted success in Guirdolim during the 2020 ZP polls, largely due to a split in the non-BJP vote. The AAP candidate had then polled a sizeable number of votes — enough to push the Congress into defeat.
With Guirdolim recording the highest turnout in Salcete this time, questions abound over whether the increased participation will favour the ruling BJP or the Congress. Political circles are also debating whether Yuri Alemao’s gamble of fielding Sanjay Velip — husband of sitting BJP ZP member Sanjana Velip — will pay dividends.
Sources suggest that only the results will reveal whether Yuri’s move can dent the BJP’s stronghold in the Balli area, which alone accounts for nearly 4,000 votes.
