Opposition’s GOA alliance gathers pace, but key hurdles in seat-sharing remain

Opposition unity on display at the birthday celebrations of LoP Yuri Alemao on Sunday. Leaders of Congress, Goa Forward and the Revolutionary Goans joined hands before thousands of people at the birthday celebrations.

MARGAO
Will the Grand Opposition Alliance (GOA), proposed by Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao, finally take shape? And will the seat-sharing formula — with the Congress contesting 30 seats and the remaining 20 seats split equally between the two regional parties, the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) — be acceptable to all alliance partners? Or will the partners end up engaging in “friendly fights” in a few constituencies where consensus proves elusive?

Yuri Alemao’s recent statement on the GOA appears to have given the much-needed push to Opposition unity and injected fresh momentum into the alliance talks. Yet several issues, especially those related to seat-sharing, remain unresolved, with reports of competing claims emerging from within the alliance.

Take Salcete taluka, for instance, where nine Zilla Panchayat seats are up for grabs. Indications from the Opposition camp suggest that the Congress may walk away with the lion’s share of these seats. Even so, all three parties are treading cautiously as discussions on multiple constituencies are still in progress.

At present, the Congress is inclined to concede the Raia seat to the Goa Forward Party. However, it has yet to take a final call on GFP’s claim over the Davorlim seat.

Meanwhile, GFP has already begun its campaign for the Poinguinim Zilla Panchayat seat by announcing senior leader Prashant Naik as its candidate. Sources say the party is further strengthening its position by planning to induct former Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes. This move, however, has reportedly not been well received by its alliance partners, though GFP maintains that plans to induct Isidore was a conscious and strategic decision.

It is worth recalling that the Congress’ own attempt to induct suspended GFP leader from Mandrem, Adv Amit Sawant, had sparked a major controversy, ultimately prompting the Congress leadership to place his entry on hold.

Disagreements have also surfaced over a few seats in Bardez and Tiswadi, and leaders of all three parties are still working to finalise a mutually acceptable seat-sharing formula. GFP chief Vijai Sardesai has already gone on record stating that the parties may engage in “friendly fights” in a couple of seats if disagreements over ticket claims persist.

Sources in the Congress party pointed out that while party Goa Desk in-charge Manikrao Thakare has constituted a panel to oversee the Zilla Panchayat polls, the party has given the task to the party MLAs led by Opposition leader Yuri Alemao to engage with leaders of the two regional parties vis-a-vis the alliance of Opposition parties.

Vijai backs alliance, calls polls ‘referendum on Goa’s identity’

MARGAO: Welcoming Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao’s proposed Grand Opposition Alliance (GOA) to checkmate the BJP in the upcoming Zilla Panchayat polls, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on Tuesday said the Opposition alliance should go to the people as a referendum on Goa’s “Asmitai” (identity) plank.

He said the people of Goa had given a befitting answer in the historic Opinion Poll, voting to retain the State’s unique culture and identity. “The time has come for the Grand Opposition Alliance to fight the upcoming polls, be it the Zilla Panchayat, Municipality and Assembly election on the plank of goemkarponn and Goa’s identity,” he told the media.

Expressing happiness over the announcement made by the Opposition leader to float GOA to take on the BJP in the coming election, Sardesai, however, cautioned that time is running out that the proposed alliance should fructify at the earliest. “As a member of the alliance, considering that Goa Forward was the pre-poll alliance of the Congress party, I feel happy that things are moving towards the direction of a joint alliance after I brought leaders of the three parties together,” he said.

Sardesai, however, cautioned that staking claim on seats for the sake of laying claim will not help anybody.