the goan I network
MAPUSA
The election is done and dusted, but the buzz in favour of Congress candidate Sudhir Kandolkar refuses to die down in Mapusa. Yet, the mind says BJP candidate Joshua D’Souza may just inch ahead and breast the tape.
At the close of polling on April 23, the scales appear to have tipped in favour of the BJP in Mapusa and this is not without reason.
A surgical strike by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on the eve of elections probably swung the momentum in favour of BJP who was till then lagging behind.
In a last ditch effort, the CM rushed to Mapusa and met with ruling councillors in a city hotel on the night of April 22.
As BJP in charge for Mapusa bypolls, the CM had one-on-one meetings with ruling councillors and extracted an assurance that Joshua will get a lead in their polling stations.
BJP’s organizing secretary Satish Dhond also used the carrot and stick method to cajole the councillors.
Amidst a veritable mutiny in the Mapusa mandal and wavering support from some councilors, the BJP was literally campaigning with its back to the wall. The party, however, seems to have swung the battle 48 hours before Election Day.
With the CM holding meetings with councillors, booth karyakartas and booth karyakartas in-charge, the gap was narrowed considerably in the last two days.
GFP chief Vijai Sardessai also made his presence felt in Mapusa on Sunday.
On polling day, the enthusiasm among BJP karyakartas gave ample indication of the overnight swing. If the number of supporters around the BJP help desk, 200 meters away from polling stations, was any indication, then Joshua could easily romp home victorious.
The BJP has arrived at a figure of 13,000 votes for Joshua.
“We have worked as one team. All our councillors were united and we are expecting our candidate Joshua to poll around 13,000 votes,” said Ryan Braganza, chairperson of Mapusa Municipal Council.
The Congress which had drummed up quite a bit of support and had an edge throughout the election campaign appears to have lost the momentum in the last 72 hours before polling day.
A good organisation was never the strength of Congress and on D-Day this was more obvious than ever. In quite a few polling stations, the party even failed to prop up polling agents. However, in what can be seen as a positive for Congress, Kandolkar’s effort to consolidate the Bhandari votes appears to have clicked. Bhandaris account for around 7,000 votes in Mapusa.
The Congress, which always banks on minorities, expects that they have voted for them too.
Thirdly, a section of the peeved BJP workers have also worked actively for the Congress candidate. “It’s absolutely even-stevens. Silent voters will be the deciding factor,” a staunch BJP supporter told The Goan.
Congress which banks heavily on the popularity of its candidate said the fight was on and they will emerge victorious. “Our candidate is a people’s candidate. MGP and some NGOs have lent their support to us. We are getting good feedback from the people. We are confident of winning the Mapusa seat,” said Amarnath Panjikar, Congress spokesperson.
There’s always a slip between the cup and the lip and only the results on May 23 will show which side the silent
voter has swung the bypoll in Mapusa.
BJP BATTLEGROUND
Amidst mutiny in Mapusa mandal and wavering support from some councillors, BJP was literally campaigning with its back to the wall
CM Sawant dashed to Mapusa on the eve of election and had one-on-one meetings with ruling councillors and booth karyakartas
BJP’s organizing secretary Satish Dhond also used the carrot and stick method to cajole councillors
GFP chief also made his presence felt in Mapusa
on Sunday
On polling day, the enthusiasm among BJP karyakartas gave ample indication of the overnight swing
CONGRESS CLASH
Congress, which had drummed up quite a bit of support and had an edge throughout the campaign lost momentum in the last 72 hours
In quite a few polling stations, the party even failed to prop up polling agents
However, Kandolkar’s effort to consolidate Bhandari votes appears to have clicked. Bhandaris account for 7,ooo votes
Congress is also banking on minorities to vote for them
A section of peeved BJP workers have also worked
actively for Kandolkar
Congress which banks heavily on the popularity of its candidate is certain they will emerge victorious
