MAPUSA
Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar suffered a major political setback as both Zilla Panchayat seats from his Tivim constituency “ Colvale and Sirsaim “ slipped out of the BJP’s hands in the recent elections.
COLVALE
In Colvale, Independent candidate Kavita Kandolkar, the outgoing ZP member, emerged victorious. Kandolkar, wife of former Tivim MLA Kiran Kandolkar, was backed by the Congress, which chose not to field its own candidate in the constituency.
Despite the BJP mounting an intensive campaign and nominating former Assonora Sarpanch Sapna Mapari, the party failed to regain the seat.
The BJP’s campaign in Colvale was spearheaded by Mahila Morcha leader and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s wife Sulakshana Sawant, who served as prabhari and campaigned extensively.
However, the efforts failed to sway voters, with the Colvale panchayat openly backing Kandolkar. The presence of an RGP candidate also failed to split votes in the BJP’s favour, allowing Kandolkar to retain the seat.
SIRSAIM
In Sirsaim, the BJP lost the seat to Congress candidate Nilesh Kambli, albeit by a narrow margin of around 70 votes. The seat, which had been with the BJP for the last two terms, was expected to be retained by the party this time as well. The BJP had fielded Sagar Maulankar and ran what it described as a strong and confident campaign.
However, the BJP candidate trailed in both Sirsaim and Tivim villages, while the Tivim panchayat strongly backed the Congress candidate, helping Kambli edge past the BJP nominee.
The twin defeats in Colvale and Sirsaim mark a significant blow to the BJP in Tivim and underscore the erosion of its traditional support base in the constituency.
