MARGAO
Asserting that the Congress and the Opposition have already conceded defeat in the 2027 Assembly election, Goa BJP President Damu Naik on Monday said the opposition is trying to set a narrative ahead of the upcoming Assembly election by accusing the ruling party of arranging Rs 100 crore to float a new Salcete-based political party.
He further said that the BJP is going to the polls with the party’s organisational strength coupled with the development work ushered in by the party-powered double-engine government in Goa and in Delhi.
During a media interaction, Naik said the opposition is trying to drag the BJP and blame the ruling dispensation for the new Salcete-based political party. “The BJP does not need the support of these parties to win elections. We go to the election on our organisational strength and our developmental work,” he said.
Saying that it is not uncommon to find new political parties taking birth on the eve of an Assembly election, the BJP president said Goa had seen new parties taking birth in the run-up to elections. “We have seen new parties such as the United Goans Democratic Party, Save Goa Front, TMC, RGP and AAP in the fray in the Assembly elections. Some of these parties made an impact during their debut, while others failed to win the confidence of the voters,” he said.
While saying that no one can stop new political parties from taking birth in the run-up to the elections, Naik, however, said that the BJP is not at all worried about these new parties. “The BJP has a big organisational base across the country. It has around 14 crore members and two crore active members. BJP’s popularity is evident from the fact that there have been many claimants for tickets to contest the coming election,” he said.
Naik, however, hastened to add that the party has not initiated the process of candidate selection, saying that the elections are still eight months away. “Whether Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar will get the party ticket or not cannot be decided now. There is still time for the finalisation of candidates,” he said.
To a question on ST reservation, Naik reminded that the state government headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had led several delegations to Delhi with a plea to the Centre to set in motion the process of political reservation for the Scheduled Tribes. “The BJP is committed to giving political reservation to the ST communities,” he added.
